Science and Technology, Research and Development Thread [Archive] - Page 2

jpdm

January 28th, 2010, 04:25 AM

Crop processing machine is most outstanding invention

By MELPHA M. ABELLO
January 22, 2010, 2:02pm
Manila Bulletin

A mult-purpose processing machine that performs the functions of a crusher, juice extractor and a mill garnered the Most Outstanding Invention (Tuklas Award) and the WIPO Gold Medal and Certificate Award during the 2009 National Invention Contest awarding ceremonies held at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City.

The research team, which is based in the Polangui Campus of Bicol University in Albay, is composed of Engr. Arnulfo Malinis, Engr. Eleanor Balute, Engr. Estrella Calpe and Engr. Herminigildo Lizano. In addition to the plaque, medal and certificate, the team took home P150,000 as cash prize.

Engr. Malinis explained that the development of such machine helps address the need for appropriate postharvest processing facilities for agricultural products in the countryside to enable farmers to add value to their produce so they can sell these products at higher prices.

The machine can process ginger rhizomes at a rate of 80 kilogram (kg) per hour, pandan leaves at 20 kg per hour, lemongrass leaves at 25 kg per hour, and arrowroot tubers at 80 kg per hour. It is powered by 1 hp motor and requires just one person for an 8-hour operation.

The researchers recommended, however, that the crops should be fresh upon processing to obtain the best results.

The use of the crop processing machine can be further maximized when combined with other equipment to make up a processing system designed for the production of a specific commodity.

For instance, the crop processing machine can be integrated in the mechanical process of producing ginger brew and powder from ginger rhizomes in combination with other equipment such as washer, crystallizer, and micromill, which are also developed by Engr. Malinis’ team.

The crop processing machine also works well as a component of a processing system for the mechanical production of arrowroot starch and flour. This project, which Engr. Malinis conducted with Engr. Salvador Albia and Engr. Christopher Pacardo also of Bicol University Polangui Campus, won third prize at the Outstanding Utility Model category of the 2009 National Invention Contest.

Engr. Malinis said that the ginger brew, ginger powder, arrowroot starch and flour produced using their locally developed machines are of high quality but are half cheaper than similar commercially available products in the market. He said that a buyer from Metro Manila has recently expressed interest in marketing their ginger powder.

The crop processing machine costs P95,000 per unit. This investment can be recovered in two years if the machine is used for a single product, or one year when used for processing various products.

Engr. Malinis said that there are now around 15 units of the crop processing machine sold in Bicol region and nearby provinces. Bicol University partners with Kolbi, a local fabricator, for the manufacture of the machine.

Other Outstanding Inventions

Other outstanding inventions named in the 2009 Invention Contest’s Tuklas Award category were the Rex Compost Tea Brewer invented by Capt. James Fos Reamon which got the second prize, and the Manufacturing Process for Hard Carrageenan Capsules developed by researchers from the Industrial Technology Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology which got the third prize.

Another notable invention was the so-called Magichanic Oil by Johnny Sy of Bagiuo City, which bagged the first prize in the Outstanding Utility Model category. Magichanic oil is an engine oil additive mixed with plant oils and is claimed to maximize the performance, fuel efficiency and combustion of vehicle engine, thereby saving on fuel and extending its life. Users attest that Magichanic oil is environment friendly and helps increase their profit due to the protection and additional mileage that it gives to their vehicles.

Claro Santiago Jr. of the University of Perpetual Help in Las Piñas got the second prize under the Outstanding Utility Model category with his invention called medical bandage from mushroom mycelium.

On one hand, the team of Rubelyn Delfin, Milagros Nillo and Flory Libunao got the second prize in the Outstanding Creative Research category or Likha Award, with their entry titled “Commercialization Potential of Suksuk for Handwoven Silk Fabric.

Young scientists also had equally outstanding inventions. One of them is the team of high school students from Arturo Eustaquio Science High School in Zamboanga City who produced biodegradable plastics (Bioplastem) from shells of brown shrimps through polymerization. Their research bagged the first prize in the Student Creative Research category or Sibol Award high school level, and WIPO Gold Medal and Certificate Award in the same category.

Special awards include the 2nd Chemrez Green Chemistry Awards which honored contestants who embody the ideals of green chemistry in their inventions and research projects. Green chemistry is the design of chemical products or processes that reduce the use or generation of harmful substances and enable efficient resource utilization.

Another is the Philippine Development Alternatives Foundation, Inc. Award for Agricultural Productivity which recognizes the need to mobilize, encourage and support strategies for technology development innovation and adaptation.

The 2009 National Invention Contest and Exhibits was organized by the DOST through the Technology Application and Promotion Institute.

bledzoe

February 3rd, 2010, 12:56 PM

Motor oil from coconuts to boost RP coco industry (http://goodnewspilipinas.com/?p=10242)
Posted on February 3rd, 2010 under Technology Milestones
By Aurelio A. Pena

http://goodnewspilipinas.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Coconut.jpg

Coconut farmers in the Davao Region hailed the recent reopening of a processing plant that turns coconut pulp into motor oil here at Matina Pangi, Davao City.

Armando Angsinco, chairman of the coconut industry cluster group under the Davao Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project (DICCEP), said the processing plant has provided an additional good market for coconut farmers looking for new alternative markets for their products.

“This is good for our coconut farmers here in Davao — it’s another market outlet for them if they’re looking for new buyers of their coconuts,” Angsinco said.

The processing plant, Chun Hae Food Processor, the producer of S9 Biotech Motor Oil, reopened the plant last November long after it stopped its operation in October 2007 after threatened with legal action from the nation’s multinational oil companies which saw the Davao motor oil producer as a “threat” to their operations.

“It took me two years to convince these oil giants that we’re never a threat to their oil business,” says Sarlo Gentapan, proprietor manager of the Davao firm.

Gentapan said it took some time for him to convince local motorists that his coconut-based S9 Biotech Motor Oil is “far more efficient, safe and cost-efficient” when used as a regular motor oil in their vehicle engines.

Since his motor oil comes from coconut pulp called “sepal” in the local dialect, Gentapan confirmed it is considered “biodegradable: and environment-friendly. No chemicals are added in his biodegradable motor oil, according to Gentapan, because it comes from 100 percent “pure coconut” and impregnated with nine enzymes.

As a non-traditional industrial product, the Davao motor oil processing plant requires a regular supply of husked coconuts from Davao coconut farmers which the local firm buys at PhP 5.00 a kilo.

Farmers in Davao can now earn more income from their coconuts, in addition to the copra that they sell regularly to copra traders here,” Gentapan said.

DICCEP, a joint project of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is currently funding and running seven industry cluster capacity projects in the Davao region which includes the coconut industry cluster headed by Angsinco.

The coconut industry cluster chairman said they are currently overseeing a number of industry projects designed to boost the growth and development of the industry and uplift the living conditions of coconut farmers with the help of government agencies like the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Coconut Authority.

edwinic

February 6th, 2010, 10:26 AM

While culture is only one element that shapes this perception, its salience is undeniable. For many Filipinos, including scientists, private beliefs and public knowledge are inextricably entwined. Nature is seen as animated by supernatural forces, thereby preventing its rational amenability. A high level of achieved competence rather than the common practice of ascribed privileges through membership in networks or systems of patronage is necessary for science and technology to prosper.

Well said, well said.

edwinic

February 6th, 2010, 10:43 AM

Speaking of robotics, the Philippines will be host to the World Robotics Olympiad this coming March :)

Thats great! Will a priest be present to bless the robots with holy water?

bledzoe

February 21st, 2010, 03:29 AM

RP ideal for biotech, says DA official (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=551439&publicationSubCategoryId=77)
By Miko Jazmine J. Mojica (The Philippine Star) Updated February 21, 2010 12:00 AM

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:fdgUIsed1U16KM:http://old.uplb.edu.ph/files/biotech-TM.jpg
UPLB Biotech

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has the right tools, proper environment, motivated entrepreneurs, and knowledgeable scientists to advance biotechnology, said a ranking official of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

DA Undersecretary Segfredo Serrano said biotechnology, or technology based on biology, agriculture, food science, and medicine, remains an “uncharted territory” which the country should cash in on. “We should exploit biotechnology. It’s the big market of the future,” he said before an audience of biotechnology stakeholders convened by the DA Biotech.

Serrano said the problem lies on the habit of many Filipinos to show great enthusiasm in the beginning followed by an abrupt loss of interest. “The truth is, we need political will to support our resources, no matter how meager it may be,” he said.

“The DA Biotech Project Implementation Unit (PIU) convened its stakeholders for a consultation meeting to thresh out priority R&D projects it will support this year and seek out possible collaborations with their institutions,” said Dr. Candida Adalla, director, DA Biotech.

These stakeholders include agencies within the DA such as the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), PhilRice, Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI); National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), state colleges and universities (SUCs), and private organizations such as the SPA Association of the Philippines, Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines, and Chamber of Herbal Industries of the Philippines (CHIPI), among others.

“For 2010, one of the things we want to do is to harness biotech in developing the bio-industry for natural ingredients. We will also support applied biotech projects for improving yield, resistance to pests, and adaptation to climate change,” said Dr. Adalla.

Consistent with the DA’s agenda, some of the R&D and capacity enhancement area that the DA Biotech will prioritize for 2010 is the strengthening of the DA Biotech Incubation Facility for natural ingredients, processing of rice bran to produce high value edible oil, bench-scale production of fucoidan from brown seaweeds for medicinal purposes, biotech-based technologies for conservation of shrimp, multi-location field trial for open-pollinated variety Bt eggplant, commercialization of bunchy top virus-resistant high-yielding abaca, and development of animal disease diagnosis kits.

CHIPI president Lito Abelarde said: “We are proposing for the crafting of a national research agenda for this particular sector so we could see through its early commercialization. We think that the problem is in the supply chain
. For example, we need a lot of natural ingredients that we mostly import at present because we cannot just simply buy directly from farmers. The missing link is the supply chain.”

Abelarde called for a strong link between researchers and the industry to fill the gap in the timely commercialization of new technologies. He likewise specifically advocated for research on ampalaya, glucosamine, and polycosinol for its significance in the health industry.

According to Abelarde, only the active ingredient charantine from ampalaya known to help blood sugar control has standards set for its use. He said there are other active ingredients from ampalaya that have not been fully explored.

On the other hand, glucosamine, naturally present in the shells of shrimp draws a significant attention from the medical community for evidence of its effectiveness against osteoarthritis while polycosinol comes from a natural mixture of sugar cane wax that has cholesterol-lowering effects.

In line with these recommendations and several others from the biotech stakeholders, Dr. Adalla mentioned the pending enactment of the Bioindustry Development Act of 2009 that will push for stronger policies on biotech development and its growth in the country.

According to this bill (SB 3140), “the Philippine Bioindustry Research and Development Center will be established to ensure innovative and competitive bio-based technologies. It will hold contract research and provide technical services to the public, manage a bio-tech research fund to support off-site research and will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.”

oboi

March 2nd, 2010, 02:47 PM

An investment that may save your child’s life

MANILA, Philippines – It is an investment similar to bonds, stocks, and savings. But unlike them, this investment can save the life of your child or other members of your family against diseases that are life-threatening.

This is what CordLife Medical Philippines Inc. is hoping to provide by establishing the first cord blood bank facility in the Philippines.

“Our investment here is the accumulation of our global technical experience and scientific understanding which we want to bring the people of the Philippines,” said CordLife chief executive officer Steven Fang in his speech last February 23 at the inauguration of the facility at the University of the Philippines –Ayala Land Technohub in Quezon City.

The CordLife cord blood bank facility has state-of-the-art technology of Sepax® which utilizes fully-automated sterile and precise cell processing system which has a recovery rate of up to 96 percent, said Fang.

Doctor Cherie Daly, head of the Group Medical Affairs of CordLife Ltd. based in Singapore, said the center here would provide services like cord blood cell extraction and cryogenic preservation.

Daly said the process involved getting stem cells mainly from the umbilical cord of a new born baby.

“The stem cells from the umbilical cord are the most primitive and earliest stem cells that we can get and we can store these stem cells at –196 degrees Celsius. When the stem cells are in the state of non-aging because they are frozen in time, we can be assured of stem cells that are the youngest and have the most promise when being used one day for the patient,” Daly said.

“Stem cells are the basic building blocks of all our tissues... Stem cells’ natural capability is to help in the area where tissues are damaged or destroyed, these stem cells go to the area and help build and repair our tissues,” Daly said.

Daly said cord blood stem cells have been proven to aid in treating over 80 types of diseases, including certain types of cancers and other blood related disorders like leukemia and lymphoma.

She said that there have been positive results in tests on stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy and type 1 diabetes.

Daly said that cord blood cells from your baby could also be used to treat other family members, with 75 percent chance of a match with siblings and up to 50 percent match with parents.

“Tests have shown that stem cell transplant using cells from a family member has doubled the survival rate [of the patient] as compared to when it comes from an unrelated donor,” Daly said.

“We believe that with sufficient clinical evidence of successful therapies, more medical options may be available to families who have stored their children’s cord blood,” Fang said.

There are other methods of extracting stem cells like drawing blood from an adult's bone marrow which is an invasive procedure and has medical risks and through the controversial embryonic stem cell extraction, which poses moral and ethical issues because the process requires aborting the newly formed embryo, Daly said.

For comedienne Giselle Sanchez, a second-time mother, CordLife is “an investment, just like bonds, stocks and saving. The difference is no matter how much interest you get in bonds and portfolio savings, you can't save your child's life or your loved one's should he/ she be stricken with a life-threatening disease, God forbid."

Sanchez, who spoke at the inauguration, disclosed that she had both her children’s cord blood stored at the flagship facility in Singapore.

Established in 2001, CordLife adheres to quality standards of the American Association of Blood Banks, the International Organization for Standardization and Therapeutic Goods Administration, among others.

The Philippine outlet is the company's seventh facility worldwide with branches at Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Netherlands, and India.

To avail of CordLife’s services, a P40,000 enrolment fee is required. This will include cord blood collection, procedural fee, processing, infectious disease tests and transport of the collected blood within Metro Manila.

An annual fee of P8,000 is also required for the maintenance of the cord blood unit.

For more inquiries, you can call 09178878611 or visit CordLife Phils. at Unit 101 Building H, UP-AyalaLand Technohub.

Inquire.net (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20100302-256234/An-investment-that-may-save-your-childs-life)

TambayBlues

March 9th, 2010, 01:34 AM

What good is agricultural research if our government will allow imported farm products from China duty free under CAFTA (China - ASEAN Free Trade Area).This is probably what will kill our economy in the long run since it will destroy our food security when we become largely dependent on produce coming from other countries. Eighty percent of our population lives in the rural areas and most of their workforce will most likely lose the only jobs they have relied on for most of their lives for lack of any other skills they can lean on. Smuggling as well as compliance with WTO trade rules is already bad enough that our country is mostly getting the shorter end of the stick, how much more if we've already swung the doors wide open to cheap Chinese farm imports. Is it any wonder then that we can't develop our manufacturing industry to its fullest potential? One of the major reasons is due to our small market size and we shouldn't be surprised since the rural masses where the greater portion of that demand should come from, is being marginalized even more due to bad economic policies. On top of that, this administration already has a massive budget deficit due to falling revenues most notably from the industrial sector and this dilemna will only be exacerbated if importers don't have to pay customs duties among other things. If you guys want to get some idea about this trap that our country has fallen into into, read Walden Bello's analysis. Here's the link;:cheers:

http://opinion.inquirer.net/viewpoints/columns/view/20100114-247344/The-China-Asean-Free-Trade-Area-Propaganda-and-Reality

hakz2007

March 18th, 2010, 04:38 AM

PGMA highlights role of S&T in nat’l dev’t
MANILA, March 17 (PNA) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo highlighted on Wednesday the leading role of science and technology (S&T) in national development, including adaptation to the impact of climate change.

The President specifically cited the invaluable role of the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research Development (PCIERD), an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), in bridging private and public sector cooperation to fuel technology-backed economic development.

The President said S&T is also crucial in adaptation to climate change, even if the Philippines is a “good world citizen” having a low carbon footprint of 1.6 tons per capita compared to the carbon footprint of many industrialized countries of six tons per capita.

“I have an unshakeable faith in science and technology as the main driver of modern-day growth and now as the main protector against the onslaught of climatic changes,” the President said.

The President was the guest of honor and speaker during PCIERD’s 28th anniversary celebration at the Hyatt Hotel in Manila this afternoon.

The President said she served as a member of PCIERD's Governing Council when she was an undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The group provided policy and management decisions on the implementation of plans and programs in the industry and energy sectors.

In her very first State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) in 2001, the President said she underscored the importance of technology as a means to spur economic growth and the foundation of future economic development.

To date, the President said her administration has reformed the educational system by strengthening the teaching of mathematics and science in basic education and has reviewed policies to forge broader coordination among public and private institutions, including the increase of budget allocations especially with the implementation of the expanded value-added tax in 2007.

Included, the President said, are the investment of P3 billion for R&D technology, the opening of 100,000 DOST masteral and doctorate scholarships to 27,000 beneficiaries, the allocation of P1 billion for the establishment of the Science and Technology Complex at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, the retention of at least 100,000 teachers in Math, Science and English, and the provision of Internet connection to 5,000 public high schools in the country.

Under the 2004-2010 Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP), the President said human capital has been enhanced to develop a critical mass of engineers and scientists; increase productivity through S&T; and promote technology-based entrepreneurship.

For climate change adaptation, the President said 10 Doppler radars has been earmarked to modernize the weather reporting of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) with five radars fully operational in the next two years.

To help the environment, the President added PCIERD’s researches on energy such as on geothermal, solar and wind power are now proven to be commercially viable.

To sustain national growth, the President said she hopes the next administration will also provide the necessary support and funding to S&T and R&D, including PCIERD’s invaluable contribution in helping develop an ASEAN S&T Roadmap towards a Climate Change-Resilient ASEAN Region by 2015. (PNA)
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=0&nid=1&rid=264929

absinthe_888

March 18th, 2010, 07:52 AM

^^ By boss and office mates were also present during PCIERD's anniversary yesterday :)

jpdm

April 24th, 2010, 12:39 PM

:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

Whiff of fresh air

Editorial:

Opinion

Saturday, 24 April 2010 08:38

Business Mirror

EVERY once in a while, some refreshing bit of news lifts our collective spirits, giving rise to hope that despite the relentless dose of bad news about corruption and incompetence in government and the sense of national drift, some progress is being made in little pockets here and there.

One such refreshing bit of news is the signing of the Philippine Technology Transfer Act of 2009, envisioned to hasten the process of technology commercialization and broaden the scope of protection of intellectual-property (IP) rights in government research and development institutions, or RDIs.

Expectedly, leaders of the science community in the Philippines, led by the Department of Science and Technology, which has always been in an uphill struggle to hasten this process of converting technological gems into commercial successes—thus attaining human progress, boosting economic growth and rewarding talent—would be elated by the signing of the law.

Officially, it’s known as Republic Act 10055 (An Act Providing the Framework and Support System for the Ownership, Management, Use, and Commercialization of Intellectual Property Generated from Research and Development Funded by Government and for Other Purposes), or simply the Philippine Technology Transfer Act of 2009.:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

“We are optimistic that this new law, a landmark policy on technology transfer, will revolutionize the commercialization of technologies generated by researches funded by taxpayer’s money,” Science Secretary Estrella Alabastro was quoted as saying.

Secretary Alabastro hopes that by fast-tracking the journey of technologies to the market, they can also plug brain drain and encourage students to pursue research and development (R&D) studies.

Yet another loss is represented by the fact that technologies generated through public funds remain untapped or are being archived in laboratories around the country.

Before the law, technology transfer was characterized by a lack of well-defined and unifying policy on technology transfer; insufficient investment in technology transfer and commercialization; weak private-public collaboration in R&D and commercialization; and lack of well-defined IP regimes in R&D institutions.

Not surprising, the number of technologies developed by local researchers and protected under the patent system is alarmingly low.

The signing of the technology- transfer law is, however, just a first step. Crucial challenges remain, not least of which is the perennial lack of resources for fast-tracking the process and for encouraging more R&D work even as the ripe-for-market technologies are being shepherded; and very basic, as always, the need to support greater science education in the country.

On the last one, it’s ironic that many Filipinos who had the good fortune of getting higher education and training abroad have achieved so much; for the most part, it’s the First World that has benefited from their talent, being their sponsors.

It is hoped that things will change with the new law.

epik ll ian

April 26th, 2010, 01:22 AM

jpdm

April 26th, 2010, 03:09 AM

Thank God for this.

Indeed.

A boost to our inventors.:cheers::cheers:

jpdm

May 4th, 2010, 08:03 AM

Superkalan inventor has 4 more patents up his sleeve

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/images/stories/Daily_Images/2010/May2010/05042010/agri01.jpg

In Photo: Grace K. Lopez, who operates an eatery in barangay Central East 2 in Bangar, La Union, says she uses the superkalan she bought from Narciso Mosuela five years ago for P2,200 every day and has not encountered any problem with it.

Written by Efleda P. Campos / Regions & Agriculture Editor
Tuesday, 04 May 2010 19:21
Business Mirror

NARCISO MOSUELA, 76, is probably the most awarded native of Bangar, La Union. He has received countless commendations for excellence, entrepreneurship and invention, including the Filipino Inventor Society Inc.’s national award in 1984, top seller in the Ramot ti Aminanan (Root from the North) Exposition in 2003, the Department of Trade and Industry’s Outstanding MSME (micro, small and medium enterprise) in 2008, and Globe’s top Masigasig Award in 2008.

Mosuela is known best for being the inventor of the superkalan, a stove made of concrete and flattened aluminum using wood instead of petroleum. It has been a fixture in many Filipino homes during the past 20 years.

Mosuela, a college dropout, has a total of six patents from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, but he keeps four of them close to his chest. Aside from the superkalan, he is the proud inventor of a compact, speedy and mobile rice thresher he started developing in 1978.

Initially costing P7,000 almost 20 years ago, his thresher now sells for P35,000. Aware of how difficult money is these days, especially for people dependent on their farm produce, he also rents his thresher for three sacks of rice per cropping.

Mosuela manufactures superkalans in his facility in barangay General Terrero and makes compact mobile threshers in his compound in barangay Ubbog. Both products are on display in his barangay San Blas property.

Mosuela’s penchant for creating new things began in childhood. He said he used to fashion toy cars, fire engines, trucks, boats and kites from discarded tin cans, popsicle sticks and pieces of wood for himself, his siblings and his cousins.

Mosuela did not begin his career as an inventor-entrepreneur. He was the supervisor of the maintenance department of Ford Philippines for eight years in the 1970s.

While working for Ford, he also supported his young family by making wiring harness for cars on the side. His model worked so well that Ford began using his version on the Ford Fiera. He asked his bosses at the plant to allow him to subcontract his invention, but they claimed the gadget as their own before Ford’s home office in Detroit, Michigan. Feeling betrayed, Mosuela quit his job and struck out on his own.

The rice thresher was the first product he marketed. He was helped by a financier from Narvacan, Ilocos Sur. During his first year as an independent entrepreneur, he was able to sell 1,000 threshers at P4,000 each in Western Pangasinan mainly in trade fairs and during town fiestas. He was also aided by the relatively cheap price of gasoline at that time and the fact that Pangasinan is a huge rice-producing area. Of course, the product is a seller in itself: It can clean 100 sacks of palay a day compared with two people manually dehulling 50 sacks of palay grains also in one day.

The superkalan came into being while Mosuela was selling his dehuller in a remote area somewhere near Quezon and Nueva Ecija. He spent the night in the house of an older couple whose hospitality touched him. The elderly wife was cooking in a hole on the ground and commented on how hard it was to cook because of the rationing of firewood in their sitio. She had to constantly blow on the sticks she was using as firewood and tears were streaming down her face because of the smoke. Mosuela promised the older lady he would make her a stove that would make it easier for her to cook.

True to his word, Mosuela fashioned a portable stove with feet and a chimney made of cement and steel and gave the prototype to her.

Being compact and easier to transport, the superkalan was an easy product to sell. But it was still a long way to being perfect. The next time he visited Pangasinan, people who bought his superkalan taunted his “super kalawang [rust]” stove. Besides, the stove was belching smoke as thick as a train’s. He inquired around and found out that aluminum, not steel, was the ideal material for his invention. He also made some adjustments and rechanneled the smoke directly out the chimney attachment.

He figured if he could sell just one stove in each of the 30 barangays in his hometown, he’d make it. He also prayed for gas prices to go up so more people would buy his stove. He got help from unexpected sources. Rafael Yabut, the radio personality-cum-politician, told him to exhibit at the Philippine International Convention Center. The 20 units he brought with him sold out by noon.

Encouraged, he borrowed P35,000 first and then P75,000 from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to make about 80 units. Members of DBP’s employee cooperative bought all units so Mosuela was able to pay back in two days the loan he thought would take him three years to pay. The product was close to perfect, as there was no longer any wood residue and smoke was finally coming out of the chimney.

He listed his Agro Industrial Corp. with the Securities and Exchange Commission and began calling his businesses collectively as Natomo Manufacturing, to sound foreign. The acronym actually stands for Nato Mosuela, nickname of one of his sons. Renato is in charge of production and Danilo, marketing.

Mosuela thinks he has sold 20,000 superkalan to date. His superkalan which sold for P2,000 in the early days now sells for P4,600.

Mosuela’s businesses employ nine regular workers, peaking to 30 when needed.

“I guarantee the longevity of my products. There is a lifetime warranty for repairs; replacement parts are extra,” he said.

(Efleda P. Campos)

kevinb

May 6th, 2010, 12:36 PM

Pinoy scientists need more sophisticated laboratories (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=572633&publicationSubCategoryId=75)
By Ruth Mercado (The Philippine Star) Updated May 06, 2010 12:00 AM

NAGA CITY, Camarines Sur, Philippines — To stop Filipino scientists from leaving the country, the government will have to construct and equip more sophisticated laboratories.

At present, most laboratories in the country are university-based. More sophisticated laboratories abroad are prompting Filipino scientists and microbiologists to seek professional growth elsewhere.

There may also be a sense of frustration among Filipino scientists and microbiologists that after doing extensive research, their products and technologies end up in archives and don’t get the chance to reach their intended end-users on a commercial scale.

Dr. Reynaldo Ebora, executive director of the Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD), made this statement to The STAR after he delivered the keynote address before 300 microbiologists and scientists who gathered for their 39th annual convention and scientific here last week.

The PCASTRD is one of the sectoral councils of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) tasked to develop, integrate and coordinate the national research system for advanced science and technology.

Ebora said research and development is a pressing concern among Filipino scientists in responding to climate change.

He said that in agriculture, the department has been developing drought-tolerant crops but genes and specific species of microorganisms need to be studied and identified more extensively to come up with products and technologies for these crops.

Ebora said climate change has also developed different breeds of pathogens and deep research is needed to address these pathogens.

Ill-equipped laboratories in the country have frustrated Filipino scientists and microbiologists who want to combat an outbreak.

“We tend to have difficulty holding our scientists here because they find more professional growth in other countries. If you look at the figures, some of our best scientists have gone abroad basically because they want to work in more advanced laboratories,” he said.

“Those are the things the department would like to address. We are trying to construct laboratories in the Philippines that are comparable to those abroad so we can encourage our scientists to stay and at the same time provide them with resources so that they can do advanced research,” he added.

To encourage Filipinos scientists and microbiologists to stay, Ebora said the DOST offers scholarships and resources for research and provide well-equipped laboratories where they can work and possibly collaborate with their fellow researchers in other countries. But thus far, efforts have not been enough to make them stay.

But then scientists and microbiologists may have also been nursing a sense of frustration when their products and technologies from extensive research and development tend to end in archives and don’t get to be produced on a commercial scale or reach its intended users.

Ebora said there is a program under the DOST called “Technicom” where grants are available to fund products or technologies that are mature for commercialization.

He said there is a need for innovative collaborative arrangements with multinational companies whose products compete with those developed by Filipino scientists.

the glimpser

May 6th, 2010, 04:20 PM

Filipino invention lets fish live without water
Posted at June 17, 2009
http://blog.agriculture.ph/tag/hibernating-fish (http://top-business-opportunities.net/2009/06/filipino-invention-lets-fish-live-without-water/)

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/7095/sleepingfish237x300.jpg http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/4624/sleepingfish350300x244.jpg

Yes, it’s not magic but through hibernation. This is what the multi-awarded Filipino Scientist Bonifacio “Boni” Comandante Jr. said of transporting live fishes for many hours without water (waterless transport of live fish technology) such as grouper, tiger prawn, shrimps, snapper, seabass, tilapia, pompano, milkfish, shellfish and crabs by using what he calls the “Buhi Waterless Live Fish Transport Technology”. He further said that given the favorable conditions of its environment (which is his trade secret), fishes hibernate or simply “sleeps” and then quickly awakes once brought back to water.

This breakthrough technology promises to generate huge savings for the cost of live fish shipment where it will eliminate the use of water which consists of 75% of the weight, improve the survival and appearance of fishes in tanks, save on fresh fish shipment (50% on weight of ice), better fish meat quality in taste and appearance and minimize stress and prevent onset of Rigor Mortis or stiffening of the flesh.

This world-class inventor from Siquijor province even successfully tested the waterless live fish technology on salmon (10 to 12 hours of transport time), abalone (14 to 18 hours) and yellowfin tuna in his research works in Australia.

As president of Buhi Marine Worldwide Suply, Inc., his list of clients in the country includes Saranggani Farms, Vitarich and Century PG. His company provides service for live fish transport without water.

BFAR National Director Malcolm I. Sarmiento, Jr, said that this technology is a major breakthrough for the fisheries sector having witnessed it with his own eyes although he said that continuous tests will be conducted to ensure that no harmful residues are found. The initial laboratory tests of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in validating this technology including necropsy and hispathology showed no traces of toxins or abnormalities on the fishes.

Moreover, BFAR Regional Director Dennis del Socorro intends to tie-up with Mr. Comandante’s technological innovations to be tested and introduced in Bicol Region. They made this agreement when they met recently when the latter presented his technology with Bicolano researchers and fisherfolk in Albay and Camarines Sur respectively.

Comandante is an Agricultural Engineer (2nd placer in the Licensure Exam) from University of the Philippines and holds Masters Degree in Economics from Asian Social Institute(ASI) and Costal Resources Management from Siliman University. He is also a candidate for PhD in Marine Biology and currently taking up PhD in Applied Cosmic Anthropology.

Among the awards he reaped for his innovations are: Finalist in the World Bank Development Market Place in Washington D.C., USA (2007); Winner at the Philippine Emerging Start-ups Open Biz Plan Challenge (2007); Winner at the World Bank Development Panibagong Paraan in Manila (2006); Pillar of Agricultural Development Award by the Department of Agriculture (2006); Inventor’s Award by the Galing Pilipino Movement (2006); Best International Business Award by the University of San Francisco USA (2005); Outstanding Creative Research Award by the Department of Science and Technology (2005); and Innovations Award by the Department of Trade and Industry (2005). He was also featured in the Go Negosyo Book of 2007 as one of the 50 Successful Filipino Entrepreneurs with inspiring stories. On June 6-9, 2009 he will participate as contestant on a research paper competition at the International Institute on Food Technologists in Anaheim, California, USA with his research work on Innovations for Philippine Hand Line Tuna Fishermen and the Sashimi Trade.

absinthe_888

May 8th, 2010, 06:29 AM

red_jasper

May 16th, 2010, 07:26 AM

Solving our water woes (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/257565/solving-our-water-woes)
By SENATOR EDGARDO ANGARA
May 16, 2010, 11:27am

BALER, AURORA – The image in our mind of a Philippines that is rich in water supply is an illusion. We may have abundant water resources in our 119 proclaimed watersheds, but within Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranks among the lowest in terms of freshwater availability per capita.

The water crisis is a silent crisis in the Philippines yet it ranges across a host of problems that affect our bid towards sustainable development. Our goal to protect our water resources is inextricably linked to achieve our energy, food security and disaster mitigation goals.

The UN has ranked the Philippines 84th out of 177 countries in the Human Development Report. One of the main reasons for this is the poor distribution of water and sanitation in the country.

But all is not lost. Technology may be key to solving our water problems. Water purification, desalinization and wastewater treatment technologies continue to be developed and commercialized. The possibilities are exciting and promising.

Last Friday, Baler played host to Water WATCH (Wise Adaptation of Technologies for Clean H20), a conference organized by the Congressional Commission on Science and Technology and Engineering (COMSTE), a joint congressional body I formed and currently chair to address technology and innovation issues.

Featuring top experts in the fields of water and sanitation, the conference discussed water and sanitation in terms of supply, demand, and governance.

It related water to the vital, specific issues of agriculture and food production, water and energy, and water and climate change and flood control.

Participants came from local and international financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, as well as local and national government.

One of the highlights of the conference was a technology exhibit that showcased current trends and the newest technological innovations in the water industry. The conference also forged a new path of innovation by encouraging public-private partnerships.

We want the province of Aurora to be a model province in water management.

Our goal is to be an effective and key supplier of water to neighboring communities through proper water technologies and practices. Ultimately, this will allow us to develop a national model that will address water and sanitation issues in the entire country.

spearhead

June 29th, 2010, 09:30 PM

Philippines Sikat solar car test drive!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDY5_kCVNAo&playnext_from=TL&videos=nMjtmLtz-Tk

jpdm

June 30th, 2010, 05:37 PM

Noynoy just appointed a new DOST Secretary recognized and a certified inventor!:cheers::cheers:

xxxriainxxx

June 30th, 2010, 07:55 PM

Noynoy just appointed a new DOST Secretary recognized and a certified inventor!:cheers::cheers:

ano naimbento?

jpdm

July 1st, 2010, 05:26 PM

ano naimbento?

nakalimutan ko na e. pero eto ang old article referring to Sec.Mario Montejo..he is an engineer by the way...

Hassle-free parking now in RP

BY JOHN POQUIZ
May 11, 2009
Malaya

The days of driving around a parking lot looking for a space to park will soon be gone.

North West Steel Technologies last week launched the country’s first robotic car, a machine that automatically parks a car. What’s more, computers make sure the car park is theft-proof.

In the car park’s soft launch, Mario Montejo, NW Steel president and CEO, said that the main advantage of the robotic car park over the conventional car park is space efficiency. He said that the car park can squeeze up to twice the number of cars in the same space as a conventional garage. Attendants are not needed.

For establishments with limited parking space, he said, the robotic car park can lodge as many as 72 cars in just 350 to 400 square meters of space.

Customers only have to drive their car onto a pallet and the robotic system stores their cars.

Owners also need not worry about dents or scratches or personal items being stolen inside the car as there are no human that will ever touch the vehicle in the parking process.

"Instead of a human attendant for valet parking, an artificially intelligent system controller is initiated through the scanning of the fingerprint of the car owner or driver," Montejo said.

When the customer needs the car, the computer can get the car back within less than two minutes.

The first unit was opened in Tiendesitas, Pasig City. The Tiendesitas unit is capable of loading 72 cars in a 350-square meter lot.

Montejo said that for the first month, the unit will load only a maximum of six cars, after which NW Steel, the operator of the robotic car park, will evaluate the market response to see if going further will be worth it.

He said the company has not determined the parking fee but it will be higher than that charged in a conventional car park.

Montejo said that the cost of each car slot is roughly P250,000.

He said that all the software for the computer-run park is locally designed.

jpdm

July 5th, 2010, 01:41 AM

kalbongdad

July 5th, 2010, 05:44 PM

nakalimutan ko na e. pero eto ang old article referring to Sec.Mario Montejo..he is an engineer by the way...

Hassle-free parking now in RP

BY JOHN POQUIZ
May 11, 2009
Malaya

The days of driving around a parking lot looking for a space to park will soon be gone.

North West Steel Technologies last week launched the country’s first robotic car, a machine that automatically parks a car. What’s more, computers make sure the car park is theft-proof.

In the car park’s soft launch, Mario Montejo, NW Steel president and CEO, said that the main advantage of the robotic car park over the conventional car park is space efficiency. He said that the car park can squeeze up to twice the number of cars in the same space as a conventional garage. Attendants are not needed.

For establishments with limited parking space, he said, the robotic car park can lodge as many as 72 cars in just 350 to 400 square meters of space.

Customers only have to drive their car onto a pallet and the robotic system stores their cars.

Owners also need not worry about dents or scratches or personal items being stolen inside the car as there are no human that will ever touch the vehicle in the parking process.

"Instead of a human attendant for valet parking, an artificially intelligent system controller is initiated through the scanning of the fingerprint of the car owner or driver," Montejo said.

When the customer needs the car, the computer can get the car back within less than two minutes.

The first unit was opened in Tiendesitas, Pasig City. The Tiendesitas unit is capable of loading 72 cars in a 350-square meter lot.

Montejo said that for the first month, the unit will load only a maximum of six cars, after which NW Steel, the operator of the robotic car park, will evaluate the market response to see if going further will be worth it.

He said the company has not determined the parking fee but it will be higher than that charged in a conventional car park.

Montejo said that the cost of each car slot is roughly P250,000.

He said that all the software for the computer-run park is locally designed.

naunahan na ata ito ng 168 ganun na ata ang parking nila dun...

Nanflexal

July 8th, 2010, 09:11 AM

GUys,

sino marunong mag assemsble ng solar panel. i plan to build 100 Watt Solar panel.

april boy

July 10th, 2010, 05:14 AM

Herbs are not the enemy, say experts

By Tessa Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:22:00 07/09/2010

Filed Under: Health, Medicines

AS MORE AND MORE synthetic drugs are being introduced by the pharmaceutical industry, increasing numbers of scientists and nutritionists are likewise looking into the other end of the medical spectrum—at herbal remedies or the so-called “nature’s own pharmacy.”

Though scientists do warn of the adverse effects of certain herbs, especially if taken without the guidance of medical experts, and the wanton marketing of herbal products, they agree that herbal medicines have, throughout human history, generally proven themselves effective.

Powerful ingredients

Nutrition expert Phyllis A. Balch, author of “Prescription for Nutritional Healing,” observes that many herbs do contain powerful ingredients that, if used correctly, could actually help heal the body. She also stresses that, when taken into perspective, the pharmaceutical industry owes a lot of its existence to plant-based sources. “The pharmaceutical industry was originally based upon the ability to isolate these ingredients and make them available in a purer form.”

Balch also adds that herbalists have long known that these medicinal plants possess other ingredients as a way “to balance” the potent effects of the main substance.

She observes that these “other ingredients” may act as buffers, synergists, or counter-balances working in harmony with the more powerful ingredients. Therefore, she says, herbs taken in their complete form provide more benefits than harmful side-effects, the human body able to utilize this balance of ingredients more efficiently.

Dr. Philip Cruz, a pharmacist and medical doctor, agrees with Balch. He adds, though, that the pharmaceutical industry has brought the extraction of the active ingredients of medicinal plants down to a more measurable science, including safety and quality monitoring. On the other hand, he says, herbal products lack well-documented clinical trials. Herbal products may work differently for each individual, he observed, and any variation in dosage of a particular herbal medicine can result in disastrous effects. There have been cases of kidney and liver failure from intake of these herbs packaged in the form of supplements if not taken in the proper manner.

“I hope Filipinos go beyond the marketing and branding of herbal medicines into supplements making outrageous claims. (They should be) educated and empowered with the facts. Always consult your physician before buying an herbal supplement. Doctors are there to be your ally in one’s well-being. For the manufacturer, it is their responsibility to keep track of their products in terms of safety and to be vigilant in the manner of reporting to regulatory authorities any adverse event or side effect experienced by the consumer,” Cruz says.

Balch observes herbal supplements have not been subject to the same quality standards as prescription or even over-the-counter drugs. She says that in order to obtain a certain level of legitimacy in the eyes of the medical world, “some manufacturers of herbal medicines have been attempting to obtain a kind of certification by using private sector groups, such as the United States Pharmacopeia, to create testing programs and certifications for their products. For instance, the certifications could include quality standards, label accuracy, purity standards, manufacturing and packaging standards.

“This certification does not guarantee that the product works as claimed or that it is safe for everyone to use. However, any manufacturer that has gone to the trouble and expense to get a certification is certainly heading in the right direction,” she clarifies.

Tips

Balch offers the following tips for manufacturers, marketers and buyers of herbal medicines:

While most herbs aren’t likely to be harmful, keep in mind that “natural” isn’t necessarily the same as “safe.” Like synthetic drugs, herbal preparations may be toxic, cause allergic reactions, or affect the body’s response to other medications.

Self-treating on herbal medicines is acceptable for minor ailments only, not for serious or life threatening conditions.

Use only recommended amounts for recommended periods of time.

Use the correct herb. Buy your herbal remedies from a reputable company. If you collect or grow herbs on your own, have a botanist or nutritionist come over to identify and/or verify the identity of the plant.

Use the correct part of the plant. For instance, don’t substitute roots for leaves. When buying fresh herbs, check to be sure which part of the herb is required for a remedy—the whole herb, flowers, fruit, leaves, stems or roots

When using an herbal remedy for the first time, start with a small amount to test for possible allergic reactions.

Don’t take certain herbs if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.

Don’t take herbal remedies if you are nursing a baby.

Don’t give medicinal amounts of herbs to children without first consulting your healthcare practitioner.

april boy

July 10th, 2010, 05:16 AM

epik ll ian

July 10th, 2010, 08:09 AM

RonnieR

July 13th, 2010, 06:02 AM

RonnieR

July 13th, 2010, 06:03 AM

Team Philippines bags special awards in Shell Eco-marathon Asia
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sites/default/files/a_images/topics/energy/Shellecomarathon_finalizedcars_CORRECTED.jpg
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 07/12/2010 8:53 PM | Updated as of 07/13/2010 9:54 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Team Philippines, composed of students from Don Bosco Technical Institute, Mapua Institute of Technology and University of Santo Tomas (UST), did not come home empty-handed after competing in the Shell Eco-marathon (SEM) Asia last week in Malaysia.

The Philippines brought home 2 special awards from the inaugural event held from July 8 to 10 at the Sepang International Circuit.

Mapua’s Team Atalanta received the 2nd place Safety Award, trailing 1st placer NUS Urban Concept of National University of Singapore and leading 3rd placer Autodesk Zeal Eco-Power of China’s Tongji University.

The winners were chosen based on the safety features of their vehicles and the way they practiced safety in their work areas.

Don Bosco, meantime, received Special Recognition for demonstrating safety compliance during the three-day competition. Malaysia’s Team Piston 1 of University of Malaya also received the same special citation.

The Off Track Awards were given in addition to the On Track Awards during the competition that looked for the most fuel-efficient vehicles designed, built and driven by Asian students.

Instead of the usual car race, the SEM aimed to look for the vehicle that travels the farthest distance using the least amount of fuel.

“The Off Track Awards complement the Shell Eco-marathon Track Awards because the competition is a total perspective,” Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd Managing Director Azman Ismail said in a statement.

“While the cars are tested for their fuel efficiency, it is also important that the students work in a safe manner, articulate their thoughts well, demonstrate innovation in their design and have teamwork,” added Ismail, Chief Judge of the Off Track Awards.

NUS Urban Concept received the Technical Innovation Award while Autodesk Zeal Eco-Power bagged the Communications and Marketing Award.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/07/12/10/team-philippines-bags-special-awards-shell-eco-marathon-asia

april boy

July 13th, 2010, 01:40 PM

More investments in petrochem sector seen

By Philexport News and Features
(The Philippine Star)
Updated July 05, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - More investments are expected to be poured into the petrochemical industry amid rosier economic outlook.

As the economy grows, plastic consumption grows with it. More items are being sold to consumers so you need plastic packaging and containers. If you are growing five percent, you should expect the sector to grow by 10 percent,said Mario Sereno, executive director of the Association of Petrochemical Manufacturers of the Philippines.

Sereno said major investments in midstream and upstream activities already reached $935 million.

This include the $300 million of Petron Corp. which is branching out into petrochemicals from petroleum refinery and the $350-million upstream project being undertaken by the J.G. Summit Petrochemicals.

Petron eyes tie-up with Thais for Bataan refinery upgrade

Tuesday, 13 July 2010 00:00
By Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo reporter
Manila Times

THE Philippines’ largest oil refiner said it plans to reel in a foreign partner to help upgrade its refinery in Bataan. On the sidelines of its annual stockholders’ meeting on Monday, Ramon Ang, Petron Corp. chairman, said the company is in talks with a number of foreign investors for a 40-percent stake in its refinery.

“For the expansion of Petron’s oil refinery, we are looking for foreign partners to join us in our expansion.
Talks are ongoing and we still cannot tell when we will finalize things,” he said.

Petron has yet to decide on whether it would form a joint venture, or issue additional shares to accommodate a new partner.

Eric Recto, Petron president, said that PTT Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand is among the potential investors the
Philippine firm is in talks with for its refinery upgrade.

“Right now I think we found a very good opportunity. I think they’re interested in a regional expansion idea. Are we part of the region? Yes. Would Petron be the logical partner? I think so,” Recto said.

He said Petron is looking at companies like PTT that could bring in needed technical capability to upgrade the former’s petrochemical facilities.

Petron aims to generate $1 billion from a potential partner to help upgrade its refinery.

Its 180,000 barrel of oil a day refinery in Bataan is the country’s largest.

As part of its diversification initiative, the company invested $300 million in the past few years to upgrade its refinery by putting up petrochemical facilities.

To continue with second phase of the upgrade, Ang said Petron would need to invest an additional $1.6 billion.

As part of its strategy to further diversify into petrochemicals business, the company earlier acquired a 40-percent stake in Petrochemical Asia (HK) Ltd., owner of Philippine Polypropylene Inc. (PPI), which runs a polypropylene plant in Bataan.

PPI recently entered into a technical services agreement with Petrochemical Co. Public Ltd. (IRPC), an affiliate of PTT. IRPC owns and operates the largest petrochemical complex in Southeast Asia.

Kintoy

July 13th, 2010, 03:28 PM

Science
Written by Rizal Raoul Reyes / Correspondent (http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27501:up-to-put-up-phd-program-in-industrial-engineering&catid=44:science&Itemid=69)
SATURDAY, 10 JULY 2010 17:45

THE University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, will put up a doctoral program in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research in order to produce competent graduates and help in enhancing the competitiveness of the country, according to one of its faculty members.

“We are putting our best efforts to see the PhD in Industrial Engineering [PhD IE] program in the University of the Philippines materialize within the next three years,” said Dr. Iris Ann Martinez, associate professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at UP, in an e-mail interview with the BusinessMirror.

Martinez said the plan was initiated by the department’s chairman, Dr. Aura Matias, and endorsed by Dr. Rowena Guevarra, dean at the UP College of Engineering.

Martinez said she and her colleagues in the department consider the project as special, which should be handled delicately to enable the college to produce qualified and competent graduates who will help in enhancing the competitiveness of the country.

To ensure the IE department will be ready for the job, Martinez said faculty members are handling specifc tasks to ensure all systems will go efficiently once the PhD program is up.

She said some of the specific tasks being done are surveying the PhD IE programs of leading universities worldwide; consulting with the UP officials on the process of establishing a new PhD program; reviewing the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering (MSIE) curriculum and reviewing the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering (BSIE) curriculum.

“We look at our BSIE, MSIE and the envisioned PhD IE programs to be the essential components of the supply chain of highly competent and motivated industrial engineers. Thus, we believe that the review of our MSIE and BSIE programs is necessary to realize a very good PhD IE program,” she said.

Martinez said four of the department’s asssistant professors will leave in August 2010 to begin their PhD studies in different universities in the US. The PhD education will be supported financially by the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) program.

“We are hopeful that when these four assistant professors rejoin our department after three years, they, together with the three faculty members who hold PhD degrees and one faculty member who will rejoin us late this year after obtaining his PhD degree, will be able to provide the strong human resource that we need as foundation of the PhD program that we aim to have,” she said.

She pointed out that the primary motivation for them is the fulfillment of the department’s social responsibility and the clamor from people who were asking them on when will the the department put its PhD IE program.

Martinez said the inquiries have come mostly from faculty members of other universities.

“We have investigated the reason behind the rise in the number of inquiries and requests for us to establish our PhD IE program and we are happy to know that this is due to the increase in awareness of the importance of a PhD degree, especially for academicians,” she said.

She said the interest shown in looking for a PhD program indicated Filipinos are starting to embrace higher education standards in management.

Martinez said the PhD graduates will help a lot in boosting the ranks of the faculty in the graduate-school program. With a sufficient number of faculty members, UP could accommodate graduates of industrial engineering who wish to pursue higher studies.

“We believe that if we utilize what we have learned in other countries and work together in our university, we will be able to put up our own PhD IE program. With that, we can bring the opportunity to advance here right where we are,” she said.

april boy

July 26th, 2010, 03:08 PM

Inventions, innovations seen to boost economic growth

July 26, 2010, 4:55pm
Manila Bulletin

DAVAO CITY (PNA) – Secretary Mario G. Montejo of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) stressed the importance of technology, innovations, and inventions in accelerating the country’s economic growth.

He made this emphasis during the recent four-day Mindanao Invention Contest and Expo (MICE) 2010 held at the NCCC Mall here with this year’s theme “Filipino Inventions and Innovations: The Way Forward.”

Montejo, in his speech delivered Sunday by DoST Assistant Secretary Carol M. Yorobe, said the government is committed to support the inventors not only in the Mindanao region, but throughout the country to generate innovative ideas and transform them into useful products, processes, and services that would ultimately benefit the whole citizenry.

“I believe that inventions will help propel our economy for history shows that no country has ever progressed without the advancement in inventions, technology and innovations, which are the fundamental pillars of modern economy,” he said.

Montejo added that the DoST will continue its support for inventors to increase the level of invention appreciation resulting in the improvement of the quality of life of the people.

“In truth, you (inventors) do not just invent but you also make wealth through your technical creations and you help shape up a stable path towards an improved national economy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Region 11 office of the DoST Director Dr. Anthony Sales said the Mindanao Cluster of DoST, in cooperation with the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI), spearheaded the four-day MICE 2010 activity to showcase the creative researches and inventions of Mindanao inventors and hopes to generate prospective adoptors and make linkages with participating inventors-researchers-entrepreneurs.

MICE 2010 served as the qualifying round for the National Invention Contest and Exposition and highlighted the Invention Contest, the winners of which will vie for top awards during the 2010 National Inventors Contest and Exposition on November 29, 2010 in Cebu City.

kalbongdad

July 26th, 2010, 03:53 PM

sana nga....

epik ll ian

July 26th, 2010, 06:46 PM

Inventions, innovations seen to boost economic growth

July 26, 2010, 4:55pm
Manila Bulletin
“In truth, you (inventors) do not just invent but you also make wealth through your technical creations and you help shape up a stable path towards an improved national economy,” he said.

Amen!

april boy

July 28th, 2010, 10:44 AM

Ady001

July 28th, 2010, 12:04 PM

^^ something our government has never learned... :ohno:

I'd like to see some of our tax money at least spent this way...

epik ll ian

July 29th, 2010, 04:29 AM

I still regret that Asia's most cherished past-time, Karaoke, is a Filipino invention, and it's not known as such - because you all know why.

Firefly_Napalm

July 29th, 2010, 01:30 PM

The government should support local inventors especially those who invent products that can reduce households' energy expenses like those alternative cooking stoves.

Tronix, a Pinoy firm, invented products capable of reducing energy consumption.

Local inventors like the guy who produces the TUPURO water purifier must be given help.

I hope the government will support them in terms of marketing and tax incentives instead of giving incentives to large firms selling mostly products made mostly from imported materials with no practical use in the country.

First post. :lurker: Long-time lurker before, but not anymore, I guess.

I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. The government should support our home-grown inventors by giving them incentives in the form of financial grants and technical aid --- even tax breaks, if possible --- among others. In time, we will be able to minimize our dependence on imported goods as we slowly but surely perfect the process of "developmental innovation" and invent our own solutions to our problems without relying too much on foreign assistance.

My only wish is that the Filipino "Puwede Na Iyan" mentality be totally eliminated from the formula...kung gusto natin ng excellent results sa ating mga R & D efforts, we also need to have an excellent mindset. No cutting corners. :)

april boy

August 1st, 2010, 01:40 AM

First post. :lurker: Long-time lurker before, but not anymore, I guess.

I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. The government should support our home-grown inventors by giving them incentives in the form of financial grants and technical aid --- even tax breaks, if possible --- among others. In time, we will be able to minimize our dependence on imported goods as we slowly but surely perfect the process of "developmental innovation" and invent our own solutions to our problems without relying too much on foreign assistance.

My only wish is that the Filipino "Puwede Na Iyan" mentality be totally eliminated from the formula...kung gusto natin ng excellent results sa ating mga R & D efforts, we also need to have an excellent mindset. No cutting corners. :)

Again, we have good inventors but the government is not part of the equation.

The government must be in the forefront in supporting the products of our local inventors.

Ady001

August 3rd, 2010, 09:05 AM

67,000-year-old human fossil found in Cagayan
(The Philippine Star) Updated August 03, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines – A team of archaeologists has confirmed that a foot bone they discovered in Callao Cave in Cagayan province is at least 67,000 years old, older than the so-called Tabon Man of Palawan, which has long been thought to be the archipelago’s earliest human remains at 50,000 years old, a report on GMANews.TV said yesterday.

“So far this could be the earliest human fossil found in the Asia-Pacific region. The presence of humans in Luzon shows these early humans already possessed knowledge of seacraft-making in this early period,” Dr. Armand Mijares, of the University of the Philippines-Diliman who led the team of archeologists, told GMANews.TV in an exclusive interview conducted by e-mail in between archaeological digs.

The report said Mijares was shocked and elated at the discovery, and admitted it was something people in his field dream of.

“I am a Pleistocene archaeologist and our efforts are meant to unravel the deep past," Mijares said.

The findings of their team were recently published in the scholarly journal Human Evolution.

The actual discovery of the bone occurred in 2007 but it was not clear then just how old the fossil was.

Mijares said they were able to approximate the fossil’s age through a method called “uranium-series dating."

The primary theory is that Callao Man, or his ancestors, reached Luzon from what is now Indonesia by raft at a time when experts did not think human beings were capable of traveling long distances by sea.

Some signs found by the scientists also indicated that Callao Man might not have been fully human, but only a species akin to modern man.

Dr. Victor Paz, a UP colleague of Mijares who was not part of the excavation, told GMANEWS.TV that the bone could be evidence of human “speciation" or the evolutionary process by which new biological species arise, taking place in Luzon.

“If speciation did take place in the region and more evidence comes out of older modern human remains, it may seriously challenge current conventions on the spread of modern humans to our region," Paz said.

Similar to Aytas

Based on the single bone, it is not clear that Callao Man was male. But they do know that its physical size was similar to the modern Negrito, or Aytas of Luzon. The bone was the third metatarsal of the foot, thus is referred to scientifically as Callao MT3.

The human bone was found in the town of Peñablanca, Cagayan in an excavation site where Mijares had started digging four years before.

“We were initially frustrated that during the excavation we were only finding animal remains. But when my colleague Dr. Phil Piper, our team’s zoo-archaeologist, was looking at the finds, he said to me, 'Mandy, this is a human bone,'" Mijares said. “When we verified that it is a human bone, I knew that we discovered something very important."

The presence of the remains of butchered animals in the same layer of sediment, but no stone tools, has raised interesting questions about how Callao Man killed them.

“We can only speculate that they were using different tools. From our initial analysis of the cut marks on the animal bones, they could have used organic tools such as bamboo which is ubiquitous in the region," Mijares told GMANEWS.TV.

Mijares said he and his team intend to continue digging, as there could be more bones waiting to be discovered.

Additional discoveries of remains of Callao Man could be enough evidence to show with more certainty that he was of an earlier species than homo sapiens, which could mean that the first modern humans in the archipelago did not sail here but evolved here, the report further said.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=599292&publicationSubCategoryId=63

the glimpser

August 23rd, 2010, 03:49 PM

Nasa science caravan in Legaspi on August 25

INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:38:00 08/23/2010

MANILA, Philippines—Two engineers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) are currently in the Philippines as part of Nasa Science Caravan “Reaching for Your Stars” program.

The pioneering event is co-organized by the Asia Society Philippine Foundation Inc. and the US embassy’s US Agency for International Development (Usaid) mission and Public Affairs Section, with support from the US Peace Corps.

Adam Gilmore, division chief engineer of the Space Shuttle Program, and Sabrina Singh, spacewalk and spacesuit systems specialist, have been at Nasa for over 10 years. Both are members of the Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative.

The caravan aims to provide learning opportunities for Filipino students to become more competitive in science, both regionally and globally. The caravan has conducted interactive lectures and one-on-one dialogues with students from various schools in Metro Manila, General Santos City, Bohol, Iloilo, and Batangas.

During the workshops, the two Nasa engineers use astronaut food and space suits to show how people live in space. Using a shuttle model and a video, they show how the Space Shuttle works. Arranging the students in the formation of the solar system, they show them why the moon’s image changes shape according to the moon’s phases.

The workshops at the Aquinas University in Legaspi City on Wednesday, August 25, will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. with students from Bicol University Aquinas, University of Legaspi, Pag-asa National High School, and Daraga National High School.

In Marikina City, the workshop at the Malanday Elementary School on Malaya Street will be held on Friday, August 27, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. At Sagad Elementary School on J. Feliciano Street in Pasig City, the interactive session will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

All media are welcome to cover the workshops in Legaspi, Marikina, and Pasig. Interested media may contact Abby Pacquing at 0917-815-2229 in Legaspi and Aivan Amit at 0921-986-7009 in Marikina and Pasig.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20100823-288398/Nasa-science-caravan-in-Legaspi-on-August-25

Kintoy

August 23rd, 2010, 04:48 PM

ang weird, si Jules Ledesma ang chairman ng Science & Tech committee ng Congress.
:bash::bash::bash:

Absentee lawmaker still gets a House chair

By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100820-287766/Absentee-lawmaker-still-gets-a-House-chair)
First Posted 02:54:00 08/20/2010

MANILA, Philippines—Believe it or not, the House of Representatives’ perennial absentee still gets to be a committee chair.

absinthe_888

August 23rd, 2010, 05:24 PM

^^ Oo nga, COMSTE pa. Ok na nga si Abaya dati. Very approachable.

iceColdgin

August 27th, 2010, 05:42 AM

for public and private research and development institutions, you may want to check Republic Act 10055 ("Technology Transfer Act of 2009"). the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 10055 was published last aug 21 and 22, 2010 and will be effective by september 6, 2010

there is great opportunity here for local philippine RDIs

:banana:

april boy

August 28th, 2010, 04:00 AM

Perks for tech business incubators sought

By MELODY M. AGUIBA
August 27, 2010, 11:37pm
Manila Bulletin

A United States-based Filipino development group is pushing for government incentives for the creation of technology business incubators and business parks to nurture startup investments in commercially-viable research and development (R&D) fields in food production, drug-making, and software.

The Philippine Development Foundation (PDF)-USA, newly-formed by Filipinos in the US, seeks government support in innovation initiatives that are seen as key to unlocking poverty reduction and economic growth.

Dr. Paco Sandejas, Brain Gain Network founder and PDF advocate, said that the founders of PDF, created by Filipino entrepreneurs and innovation specialists based mostly in Silicon Valley, are ready to meet in September this year to come up with plans to boost industry innovation programs in the country.

“We have proposed a program on technology business incubation way before when (former senator) Mar Roxas was DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) secretary. But we should continue to push it now,” said Sandejas in an interview during a PDF press briefing.

Technology Business Incubators (TBI) play a major role in raising capital funding for business startups focused on new technologies or software development, affirmed Sandejas who is also venture capital Narra VC managing partner.

Victoria Garchitorena , president of Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI) and PDF convenor, said it is envisioned that the PDF Forum will create a venue for partnerships in technology entrepreneurship and business incubation between Filipinos based in the US and those based here.

The fund raising for these partnerships to happen is in a stage that is called in the US as a “501 charity” (tax-exempt, non-profit corporation), according to Garchitorena.

“We’re trying to do all the bridging of hope across,” she said the press briefing. “We’re establishing a system that will develop science and engineering as a foundation for economic development.”

AFI Executive Vice President Guillermo M. Luz said in a separate interview that PDF may encourage formation of more licensing agreements in the country.

This should prompt investors to put in money for new patents since they would have the protection to enjoy profits from revenue sharing agreements.

Luz said AFI is collaborating with South East Asian associations, where AFI’s TBIs are a member, in order to find models for best practices in licensing and technology business nourishment. Among these are Asian Association of Business Incubation (AABI), Asia Pacific Incubation Network, and SPICE (Science Sparks Incubation).

Maxxclip

September 7th, 2010, 02:58 AM

Negrense Inventors Triumphed at the 2010 Visayas Islands Invention Contests and Exhibits

Negrense inventors won in various categories at the 2010 Visayas Islands Invention Contests and Exhibits of the Department of Science and Technology held at Amigo Plaza Mall in Iloilo City last August 12-14, 2010. With the theme “Filipino Inventions and Innovations: The Way Forward”, the event showcased inventions from all over Visayas.

Mr. Ramon Uy of RU Foundry got all the three spots under the Utility Model Category for his entries Pedal Driven Mobile Shredding Device, Shredding and Pulverizing Machine Assembly and Mobile Rock Crushing Device.

http://www.experiencenegros.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/shredder.jpg

On the other hand, West Negros University’s Engr. Dioscoro Marañon and Engr. Paolo Petalver’s entry Bio Power Up Fuel Additive landed one of the three spots under the Creative Research – Likha Category.

http://www.experiencenegros.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/paolo-petalver.jpg

There were a total of 84 entries coming from all over Visayas which joined in 6 categories namely, Invention, Industrial Design, Utility Model, Creative Research (Likha), Creative Research (Sibol-College), and Creative Research (Sibol-High School). Three qualifiers were chosen in each category. Each qualifier received cash incentive amounting to Ten Thousand Pesos (Php 10,000.00). Regional finalists will be competing in the National Invention Contests and Exhibits (NICE) to be held in November 17-19, 2010 at the Trade Hall 1, SM City Cebu, Cebu City.

The 2010 Visayas Islands Invention Contests and Exhibits (VIICE) was organized by the Department of Science and Technology Visayas Cluster (DOST 6, DOST 7 and DOST 8 ) in collaboration with the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI).

Greypilgrim

September 7th, 2010, 03:46 AM

SHREDDER again?????

Maxxclip

September 7th, 2010, 03:50 AM

^^:colgate:

RonnieR

September 15th, 2010, 10:08 AM

Guys, let's support this....

2010 World Robot Olympiad (WRO) in the Philippines
November 6 & 7, 2010
http://www.robotshop.com/blog/images/World-Robotics-Olympiad-WRO.jpg
Philippines WRO

For the first time ever, the Philippines, will host on November 6 and 7, 2010, the World Robot Olympiad.

The World Robot Olympiad (WRO) is a robot competition that brings together more than a thousand schools with students and teachers from 30 different countries.

Two categories are presented: one technical and another which leaves more room for creativity.

The Philippines have won the right to host the competition having previously won two gold medals, two silvers and a bronze over seven years of competing in the WRO.

The 2010 theme is “Robots Promote Tourism.”

You can find more info on the World Robot Olympiad website: www.wroboto.org

Ph Man

September 15th, 2010, 11:15 AM

wow, that is something.

DLSU studes have been very good at this.

Kintoy

September 16th, 2010, 12:42 PM

Philippines developing low-cost computer for schools
(AFP) – 22 hours ago

MANILA — The Philippine government is working on a low-cost tablet computer that could bring an end to the days of children dragging heavy schoolbooks around, a cabinet secretary said on Wednesday.
The computer will cost around 3,000 pesos (70 US dollars), according to science and technology secretary Mario Montejo.

"This is education in the future: no more heavy textbooks for our hapless school kids. Basically, we really should replace the books," he told reporters.
He also said the move would make Filipinos more competitive in science and technology.

However Montejo said the planned tablet would lack many features common to other such devices in order to make it cheaper.

"Every additional feature will add to the cost," he warned.
He did not say when the proposed tablet would be launched.

bledzoe

October 3rd, 2010, 04:29 AM

Why Fil-Am tycoon flew 12 hours to RP, left same day
(http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20101003-295674/Why-Fil-Am-tycoon-flew-12-hours-to-RP-left-same-day)By Lito Gutierrez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:02:00 10/03/2010

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ8tVDIux0gq8uznpIgTBjsluu6UWojB8DwFvCrpc8VfTyZM6Q&t=1&usg=__YaMf7pRlm9PCxzzh0hlcR7A9i1s=

Filed Under: Economy and Business and Finance, Politics, Government, People, Technology (general)
Most Read
PALO ALTO, California – President Benigno Aquino III had barely warmed his seat in Malacañang in May when he was visited by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist Diosdado Banatao.

Banatao, who flew to Manila largely as chair of what was then known as Ayala Foundation USA (since renamed Philippine Development Foundation), freshened up from his 12-hour trans-Pacific flight and motored to the Palace. He flew back to San Francisco that same evening.

He was accompanied in the trip and subsequent audience with the new President by Ayala Corp. president and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Vicky P. Garchitorena, foundation vice chair and president, respectively.

Much has been written about Banatao, a farm boy from Iguig, Cagayan, who made the chips that are at the heart of every computer today. In the process he amassed a fortune that includes two executive jets, a multimillion-dollar house in leafy Atherton (which is also home to such high-tech icons as Steve Jobs), and an estate in the wine country in Sonoma.

He is known for his generous philanthropy, which he pursues with his wife Maria Cariaga Banatao. (Apart from running their own family foundations, Maria has a seat at the University of California at Berkeley Foundation Board of Trustees, Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital Foundation Board and the then Ayala Foundation USA.)

Top 8 engineering schools

In an interview on September 21 in his office at Tallwood Venture Capital here, Banatao said he had merely asked the President to please keep supporting the science and technology projects he had initiated with the previous President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and the Department of Science and Technology.

“I just told him there are ongoing programs right now that cannot be interrupted,” Banatao said, referring to Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT), which at its inception in 2007 was given a three-year P3.5-billion budget that runs out this year.

ERDT is a consortium of the Philippines’ eight top engineering schools – University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, UP Los Baños, Central Luzon State University, San Carlos University and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSirJsbGDXqi6ktRfsDtzMGOqwCVIT2P_uqkPqzBbwPslTWcIY&t=1&usg=__PeBKIjO8k2ZluC5e0HdxELDuMHo=

Banatao said Mr. Aquino made no promises but somehow got his message.

“I think he understands that the growth of the [Philippine] economy would depend on how we take advantage of the global demand,” Banatao said, adding that the demand could be met only if the Philippines produced high-value-added, high-technology products, which in turn could only be conceived with properly educated and trained scientists and engineers.

Fervent passion

What is largely unknown about Banatao is the fervent passion with which he pursues his ideas, whether it be looking for the next-generation semiconductors or challenging a community civic fund. (Some years back he told the San Francisco-based Manila Heritage Foundation that he would contribute a large amount of money, but only if members of the community would match it. “They did,” he said. “But it took them a while.”)

On the day of our interview, this ardor was as radiant as the early morning sun that bathed Banatao’s airy, glass-enclosed offices at the second floor of the Wells Fargo Bank building, a gentrified enclave that is the birthplace of much of the high technology out there today.

Tallwood, of which Banatao is managing partner, is in the middle of it all, with $500 million to invest on “disruptive” ideas, products and technologies with market potential.

Its portfolio includes startups with esoteric-sounding promises, such as “enabling the photonic future” or providing “low-powered integrated circuits for the next-generation mobile-media devices.”

Full throttle

At 64, Banatao is still at full throttle. He optimized the time of the interview by having breakfast – two cans of an “energy” drink.

He is lean and sprightly, which his executive assistant, Stacey Holmes, attributed to “a vigorous workout regimen, including running.”

And he “almost always has meetings through lunch,” which is “usually salmon, salad and soup,” she added.

That Banatao would travel from the United States for an hour’s chat with President Aquino was an indication of his doggedness and commitment. He could have flown in on his Bombardier, a long-range executive jet he uses to shuttle among the global financial and high-tech capitals, but there was no available hangar at the Manila airport. (He has two full-time pilots for the Bombardier. His other jet is a Cessna, which he uses to tool around California skies.)

“Sometimes you have to do these things,” he said of the quick visit to Malacañang. For to him, ERDT, with its objective to produce at least 500 scientists and engineers with master’s and doctorate degrees, would provide the brains that would propel the Philippine economy by producing high-value products and services that could compete in the global market.

On a visit to UP in 2007, Banatao was told that its budget was being held. He recalled his frustration when the news hit him.

So he urged the engineering faculty to come up with ideas on the best science and engineering programs, which they later brought to then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. To convince her of his commitment, he said he was putting up $500,000 to fund a “high-impact” research institute at the UP College of Engineering.

Arroyo bought the idea, for which Banatao is thankful.

“President Arroyo was the first-ever president I worked with who really did something about science and engineering education,” he said. “I told her we [were] going to provide the guidance, the ideas, but that government had to contribute to this cause because philanthropy can only go so far. She said, ‘Okay, let’s spend some money on this.’”

Talent, skills bank

ERDT’s goal is to create a bank of talent and skills that will raise the quality of teaching science and engineering in the Philippines, according to Banatao.

It will create a number of institutes, such as the Institute of High-Impact Engineering Research at UP. From this effort, he said, a new generation of innovators would hopefully come up with ideas for high-tech, high-value-added products for the Philippines to sell in the international market.

At present, most Philippine industries are producing “very low” value-added products and services, such as call centers, Banatao observed.

It’s the same with the academe, said Banatao, who holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mapua and a master’s degree in the same course from Stanford University.

“We are woefully behind in the quality of teaching,” he lamented. “There is just not enough quality to get [the teaching] of science and engineering to a level that can self-propagate. So we are just producing mediocrity everywhere.”

But he scaled back on his tone, as if he had realized that he was sounding offensive: “As much as I know that it’s hard to listen to these things, it’s harder for me to say these because of how much I care about our country.”

Working with the best

Banatao got his degree from Mapua at the time when it was the country’s premier engineering school.

He said that was why he went there, and not to UP. He recalled that his batch (1966) seized the top 20 slots of the board exams except for the 11th, which was taken by a UP graduate.

But UP has since caught on and Banatao has no doubt it is molding the best engineering minds in the Philippines today.

He said he wanted to work only with the best, and that he would continue to put money where his mouth was.

Today six UP engineering professors are Banatao fellows at UC Berkeley, where the man chairs the College of Engineering Advisory Board and is a member of the Chancellor’s Executive Advisory Council.

http://www.funginstitute.berkeley.edu/images/banner5.jpg

“They are doing pure research and are working with the best engineering minds from all over the world,” he said.

In fact, Banatao’s philanthropy is not limited to the Filipino community. At Berkeley he funded the Center of Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (Citris), to look at “big-scale (global) social issues” such as energy and health care.

And within Citris, there is the Dado and Maria Banatao Center for Global Learning and Outreach from Berkeley Engineering (or Globe), which “reaches out to and collaborates with engineering colleges and universities all over the world.”

Venture capitalist

For all the money that he has invested in civic works, Banatao is not a social entrepreneur.

“My gift-giving is all about education, not entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship funds small efforts that benefit the individual immediately, such as microfinancing. The recipients are required to repay their loans. I don’t do that,” he said, adding:

“I am a venture capitalist ... That is the business from which hopefully I can make money to fund my philanthropy.”

Banatao said he required no commitment of any sort from the recipients of his scholarships and fellowships.

He said he just hoped that his Berkeley fellows would return home and “apply the knowledge they received.” But putting “handcuffs” on them, such as “requiring of them service to repay the cost of the fellowship, is totally out of the question.”

“There is no required commitment for them to stay in the Philippines,” he added. “You can’t force people to stay. All you can do is provide the environment for them to stay.”

And that is what ERDT is all about.

What if, for some reason, President Aquino fails to provide the funding it needs?

“We’re not about to stop helping now,” Banatao said. “When my wife and I decided to start our foundations, we were determined that nobody was going to get in the way of these good things.”

epik ll ian

October 3rd, 2010, 04:57 AM

Banatao is the man!

wino

October 6th, 2010, 02:24 AM

inspiring :D

absinthe_888

October 7th, 2010, 08:23 AM

^^ I do hope P. Noy will continue the ERDT program.

up_mc

October 7th, 2010, 11:55 AM

^^ and the (ASTHRDP) Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program too :D

absinthe_888

October 7th, 2010, 02:55 PM

^^ and the (ASTHRDP) Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program too :D

Ah yes, I forgot about this one.

Are you a PGMA scholar? :D

up_mc

October 8th, 2010, 07:51 AM

^^ DOST scholar under the ASTHRD Program :D

absinthe_888

October 8th, 2010, 01:28 PM

^^ Nice :) What are you taking up?

The ASTHRD Program is also called the PGMA scholars diba :D

up_mc

October 8th, 2010, 01:53 PM

^^ nope, but its a project made during PGMA's term. ever since kasi, DOST scholars ang tawag sa amin. MS EnviSci :D

absinthe_888

October 8th, 2010, 04:54 PM

Ah. Kasi noong asa DOST pako, PGMA scholar ang tawag namin sa mga asa ASTHRD Program. :D

Linguine

October 9th, 2010, 05:18 PM

DoST Promotes Local Innovations
By GABRIEL S. MABUTAS
October 9, 2010, 7:38pm

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Science and Technology (DoST) Secretary Mario Montejo vowed on Saturday to step up promotions of local technology, by making the country’s environment conducive for innovation and encouraging partnership between the government and the private sector to advance Filipino innovations. This, he said, because local technology works.

The DoST chief said better promotion of local technology could be expected because the National Innovation Agenda dubbed “Filipinnovation” represents the policy direction of the new administration.

Citing the advances made by the science community in the past, he said the country can count on Filipino researchers given a climate conducive for innovation to come up with products, services, and technologies that are competitive. “Remember that we are encouraging complementation where initiatives are harmonized for the various disciplines to work together with the goal of making things simple yet beneficial,” Montejo said.

What’s important, according to Montejo, is the department’s effort of promoting technologies that have been developed by the Filipinos. He added, “Another good side of this effort is that we are attacking problems via strong partnership. Here, the government, academe, and private sector are working together towards attaining a common goal.”

Of the many plans the DoST wants to realize, Montejo said, is the locally manufactured mass transit system which is already on the initial stages of development.

The railway track for the planned prototype will be at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He disclosed that DoST hopes to have the groundbreaking by November 2010 and finish it within a six-month period after the groundbreaking. “What makes this mass transport system different is that it will be locally manufactured and would cost much less than other mass transport systems developed from other countries,” he said.

Montejo said the DoST is also considering the possibility of using wind energy by way of windmills. “But we are seriously looking at the most cost-effective design unlike the one currently used in Ilocos. We hope to bring down the cost of production to at least 50 percent compared to what is currently in use,” he added. Other aspects being seriously examined are flood monitoring and flood control. On the monitoring side, the DoST is currently upgrading the existing sensors along the Marikina River and designing flood control systems together with other agencies.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/281348/do

Ady001

October 10th, 2010, 10:01 AM

UP students design typhoon-proof ‘bahay kubo’

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:51:00 10/10/2010
MANILA, Philippines—A typhoon-resistant “bahay kubo”?

A group of senior engineering students of the University of the Philippines Diliman has designed a nipa hut that promises to withstand typhoons and earthquakes, thanks to its octagonal design anchored on a central pole.

Called Kawayanihan, a mash-up of “kawayan,” or bamboo, and “bayanihan,” the Filipino tradition of helping out, the two-story, 25.5-square-meter house could provide poor families affordable quality housing.

This and other innovative ideas were showcased at the Engineering Marketing Congress (EMC), an annual event where undergraduates pitch research projects as viable commercial products in the form of a competition.

Started in 2005, EMC aims to hone the students’ skills in translating their ideas into prototypes. It also teaches them how to effectively market these ideas.

“Our engineers are usually faulted for their poor oral skills. In the job market, they top the written exams, but many of them don’t get the position because they fail the interview,” Dr. Aura Matias, dean of the College of Engineering, told the Inquirer.

Create excitement

“You have to create something exciting. Students want to be challenged. So EMC was conceived,” she said.

Matias said she hopes the event would develop the country’s future “technopreneurs.”

“Students propose a research project for a commercial product and prepare a marketing presentation,” she said.

This year, some 13 student groups from different engineering departments—industrial, electrical, chemical and civil engineering—participated in training and marketing seminars before showcasing their ideas at the college lobby.

Three winners will be announced at the end of the event. The top prize is P30,000.

Sense of responsibility

Pat Jacinto, whose group came up with the typhoon-resistant bahay kubo, said each Kawayanihan house would cost P50,000 and could accommodate a family of six.

Jacinto, an industrial engineering student, said prototypes of the bamboo houses would be built on a 197-hectare property in Famy, Laguna.

The group of Duane Galang, meanwhile, created a biomass fertilizer touted to be more effective and cheaper than commercial fertilizers. A 50-kilo sack would cost P495.75, half the price of chemical fertilizers.

Galang, a chemical engineering student, also shared with the Inquirer valuable lessons he learned from the EMC. “It instilled in me a greater sense of responsibility. As engineers, we don’t just do computations, we’re in a position to impact the Philippines and the whole world. When we step out of college, we can take positions in the corporate world or government and really do something about the issues.”

Bricks from garbage

Another group devised a mass production system for ReBricks, which are recycled bricks made from garbage. The idea was originally developed by a community in Barangay Bagong Buhay in Quezon City.

Industrial engineering student Angelo Domingo said their system introduced a more efficient way to melt and mold plastic trash with less emissions.

ReBricks are sturdier and, at least, P1 cheaper than commercial bricks that sell for P11.10 apiece.

“It has great potential, we studied the process and how it can be efficiently done. We got a partnership with the Quezon City government to produce 26 million bricks a year,” Domingo said.

The bricks would be used to re-pave some 500 kilometers of sidewalks around Quezon City in the next three years, he said.

“After three years, we will open ourselves to the market, to real estate developers,” Domingo said.

The exhibit of student projects ended last Wednesday. As of press time, EMC winners have yet to be announced.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20101010-296899/UP-students-design-typhoon-proof-bahay-kubo

Linguine

October 10th, 2010, 10:46 AM

DoST Holds Science Fair in C. de Oro
October 10, 2010, 2:14pm

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Department of Science and Technology (DoST) in Regions 9, 10, 11, 12, Caraga, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), in cooperation with the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI), concluded Sunday the 2010 Science and Technology Fair.

The TAPI fair with the theme “FilipInnovation: The Way Forward,” was held at the Rotunda of the Limketkai Center in this city.

DoST 10 Regional Director Alfonso Alamban said that the three-day fair had featured science and technology exhibits and a series of lectures on Climate Change and the Enabling Environment for Innovations.

The fair also included a technology demonstration on Innovative and Environment-Friendly Technologies like the non-cyanide brush plating and anodizing, Alamban said.

Alamban explained that “FilipInnovation” combines the words “Filipino” and “Innovation,” to highlight the thrust of DoST of having a new paradigm in the delivery of its programs, projects, and services.

The theme underscores the role of Filipino innovation in pushing the country towards development, he said.

It is also in line with DoST’s move to make local technologies available, accessible, and affordable to Filipinos, he emphasized.

The fair opened to the public in order for them to view and learn from the exhibits and other activities, the DoST said.

The cluster technology fair is a yearly activity of the DoST. (Nonoy E. Lacson)

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/281455/dost-holds-science-fair-c-de-oro

RonnieR

November 9th, 2010, 06:15 AM

Incentives await young creators of 'Pnoy' the robot
By Dino Balabo (The Philippine Star) Updated November 09, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (1) View comments

BOCAUE, Bulacan, Philippines – Incentives await four high school students here who bagged a gold medal in the 7th World Robot Olympiad (WRO) for the robot named “Pnoy.”

At the moment though, officials and students of the Dr. Yanga Colleges Inc. (DYCI) are still in a daze by the victory of Adiel de Jesus, Ma. Nerissa Nicolas, Ellaine Bulaclac, and Alexandra Guevarra in the WRO’s junior high school open category.

“We will give them full college scholarship if they chose to enroll with us,” said Michael Yanga, one of the DYCI’s ranking officials.

Yanga said though the four students will not receive monetary incentives. “We will give them a treat, perhaps a trip, but no monetary incentives because we would like to reinforce the value of hard work to them,” he said.

Yanga said they are planning a victory parade and a thanksgiving Mass next week.

Meanwhile, the provincial government of Bulacan is also planning to invite the students at the provincial capitol next week.

Provincial administrator Jim Valerio, a Bocaue resident himself, said they will invite the four DYCI students to receive recognition from the provincial government.

Valerio said they will ask the students
to do demonstration of the capabilities of Pnoy the robot.

“We want to see and show other Bulakenyos what our young people are capable of doing today, especially when given proper guidance and tools,” Valerio said.

The “multi-talented” Pnoy, a three-foot Lego robot, speaks four languages, plays musical instruments, and kisses the hands of older people, a traditional Filipino trait of showing respect to elders.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=628278&publicationSubCategoryId=67&newsalert

absinthe_888

November 9th, 2010, 11:05 AM

^^ I'm very happy the WRO hosted by our country was a success...I used to be one of those who did the preliminary evaluation of this project when it was being considered for DOST-GIA funding when I was still in DOST.

Askal82

November 10th, 2010, 02:03 AM

RonnieR

November 12th, 2010, 07:03 AM

Guys, have you noticed that Manila Bulletin and Philippine Daily Inquirer have their 3D print ads. They provide 3D plastic glasses for perfect viewing of the ads.

Cool. Another first in Philippine media. :)

Kintoy

November 18th, 2010, 07:47 PM

http://i877.photobucket.com/albums/ab335/kin_toy/154859_46.jpg

The UP Astronomical Society is hosting an observation tomorrow for the Leonids meteor shower, at the sun deck of PAGASA Observatory in the University of the Philippines Diliman campus, from 10pm to 6am.

the public is invited to join

GodIsNotGreat

December 12th, 2010, 01:35 AM

From hiccups to wisdom teeth, the evolution of homo sapiens has left behind some glaring, yet innately human, imperfections

By Rob Dunn
Smithsonian.com, November 19, 2010

Natural selection acts by winnowing the individuals of each generation, sometimes clumsily, as old parts and genes are co-opted for new roles. As a result, all species inhabit bodies imperfect for the lives they live. Our own bodies are worse off than most simply because of the many differences between the wilderness in which we evolved and the modern world in which we live. We feel the consequences every day. Here are ten.

1. Our cells are weird chimeras
Perhaps a billion years ago, a single-celled organism arose that would ultimately give rise to all of the plants and animals on Earth, including us. This ancestor was the result of a merging: one cell swallowed, imperfectly, another cell. The predator provided the outsides, the nucleus and most of the rest of the chimera. The prey became the mitochondrion, the cellular organ that produces energy. Most of the time, this ancient symbiosis proceeds amicably. But every so often, our mitochondria and their surrounding cells fight. The result is diseases, such as mitochondrial myopathies (a range of muscle diseases) or Leigh’s disease (which affects the central nervous system).

2. Hiccups
The first air-breathing fish and amphibians extracted oxygen using gills when in the water and primitive lungs when on land—and to do so, they had to be able to close the glottis, or entryway to the lungs, when underwater. Importantly, the entryway (or glottis) to the lungs could be closed. When underwater, the animals pushed water past their gills while simultaneously pushing the glottis down. We descendants of these animals were left with vestiges of their history, including the hiccup. In hiccupping, we use ancient muscles to quickly close the glottis while sucking in (albeit air, not water). Hiccups no longer serve a function, but they persist without causing us harm—aside from frustration and occasional embarrassment. One of the reasons it is so difficult to stop hiccupping is that the entire process is controlled by a part of our brain that evolved long before consciousness, and so try as you might, you cannot think hiccups away.

3. Backaches
The backs of vertebrates evolved as a kind of horizontal pole under which guts were slung. It was arched in the way a bridge might be arched, to support weight. Then, for reasons anthropologists debate long into the night, our hominid ancestors stood upright, which was the bodily equivalent of tipping a bridge on end. Standing on hind legs offered advantages—seeing long distances, for one, or freeing the hands to do other things—but it also turned our backs from an arched bridge to an S shape. The letter S, for all its beauty, is not meant to support weight and so our backs fail, consistently and painfully.

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/8512/consequencesofevolution.jpg (http://img839.imageshack.us/i/consequencesofevolution.jpg/)

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The-Top-Ten-Daily-Consequences-of-Having-Evolved.html#ixzz17qhJVgf1

amigo32

December 12th, 2010, 07:11 AM

naku mukhang nasa pangatlong stage pa lang kami ni Binay nito:D hindi pa kumpleto evolution namin:D

wino

December 13th, 2010, 10:14 PM

^^ LOL :D

NOVO ECIJANO

December 13th, 2010, 10:31 PM

naku mukhang nasa pangatlong stage pa lang kami ni Binay nito:D hindi pa kumpleto evolution namin:D

ano ka ba?neanderthal o homo sapiens?:lol:

GodIsNotGreat

December 14th, 2010, 12:39 AM

^^ A very contentious issue, in fact, among scientists until this year. One school of thought thinks that the Neanderthals were a distinct species from the ancestors of modern humans and these two species never mated. The contrarian view is that modern humans somehow have Neanderthal genes as a result of occasional mating contacts between the two.

The findings of a pioneering research by Svante Paabo,

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1616144,00.html

a highly regarded scientist who heads the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology make the unimpeachable case that indeed we are a bit part Neanderthal.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703686304575228380902037988.html

But just a bit, 4%.

Linguine

December 20th, 2010, 01:18 PM

First monorail out by June next year
By GABRIEL S. MABUTAS
December 20, 2010, 6:40pm

MANILA, Philippines — The development of the first ever Filipino monorail system would be completed by May or June next year but would initially be ran for testing inside either the compound of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) and the UP campus in Diliman, DoST Secretary Mario Montejo said on Monday.

In an interview, Montejo told reporters that the monorail would be running by June 2011 at the latest. Prior to this, it would be tested and promoted as a good transportation alternative.

As soon as they are out with a system, he said, they would be able to know how much it would cost for metro-wide use.

For now, Montejo refused to give details as to the cost of building a monorail system, but assured that it would be cheaper considering that it is 100 percent local.

“We will invite the media to ride the first local mass transit by June and see the difference between local MRT and LRT,” he said.mrt, lrt,

Montejo said they have already started working on the monorail development in line with the government bid to reduce traffic and address the problem of overcrowding in mass transport.

Soon as it is developed, the DoST chief said, the new mode of transportation would be plying around the DoST compound or the UP campus to ferry passengers, while showcasing their green sights.

The system DoST intends to develop is similar to the MRT and LRT, except that it runs on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and guideway.

It is formally called the Automated Guideway Transit.

“We are coming up with a local AGT to address the problem of overcrowding in our mass transports. This is how we would want local science and technology work, to respond to the people’s needs,” Montejo said.

He said developing the AGT locally will cost only a fifth compared with the price of importing one.

Montejo said with its compact size, AGT does not completely block landscapes and the skyline.

As it has its own route and track, he added, it will not interfere with the existing transport modes, and will be traffic- and accident-free.

To set the AGT project in motion, the DoST is designing the detailed engineering plan and preparing the framework and schedule of activities, among others.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/293949/first-monorail-out-june-next-year

NOVO ECIJANO

December 20th, 2010, 01:37 PM

Panzer_18

December 20th, 2010, 01:47 PM

^^i agree with you sir.... we can also add up to our list like aircrafts.helicopters, airplanes and even big ship and fastcrafts........ these industrial transportation industries is a way helping out our country gain more beneficial and sustenance in near future for furthered developments in the field of science and technology .....:)

twIco

December 23rd, 2010, 05:10 PM

Weather bureau unveils new, improved website
By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 10:15:00 12/21/2010

MANILA, Philippines—The weather bureau is starting the new year right.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has undertaken a redesign of its website that promises better access and information to the public.

The agency unveiled the new website over the weekend, Nathaniel Servando, PAGASA deputy administrator, told the Inquirer in an interview Monday.

The old PAGASA website (pagasa.dost.gov.ph) was one of the most popular in the country, Servando said. The agency, which recently won the 2010 Digital Filipino Web Award in the government category, said the website recorded 181.2 million hits, 18.7 million page views, 111 million downloads and 6 million unique visits from January to November this year.

Servando said the redesign was “in line with the DOST's [Department of Science and Technology] program to harmonize information across its agencies.”

Servando said the new website was a work in progress and PAGASA was eager for feedback from users. “We are still thinking of adding other features and news,” he said.

While the new site has retained some old features like the daily weather outlook, temperatures, gale warnings and satellite images of the country, it has added information relevant to various sectors such as agriculture, shipping and aviation.

During extreme weather disturbances, the website will feature radar images and hourly updates on the storms, Servando said.

The website also has forecasts for airways and terminals. Viewers can also check the weather in other Philippine cities and Asian cities, he said.

The website also has links to other government agencies and has resources and learning tools for students studying the weather.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20101221-310191/Weather-bureau-unveils-new-improved-website

The New Website of PAG-ASA :http://121.58.193.22/index.php

Linguine

January 1st, 2011, 02:15 PM

Tablet PC soon to replace school books
By GABRIEL S. MABUTAS
January 1, 2011, 6:43pm

MANILA, Philippines — The first locally developed tablet personal computer (PC) may be out this year as the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) zeroes in on its development, DoST Secretary Mario Montejo said.

In announcing the department’s priorities for 2011, Montejo expressed hopes that the first Filipino PC tablet will come out this year.

“We hope to modernize the education system through the use of a low–cost PC tablet and connect all schools to the Internet,” Montejo said.

He said they have invested in the development of the cheap electronic gadget to save students from buying printed school books whose spiraling prices often have to do with the high printing cost.

The “Tablet PC,” which is the size of a computer notebook, is intended to eventually replace printed books in schools.

“Nagde-develop kami ng (We are developing a) tablet PC to load it with book contents para hindi ka na kailangan magdala ng books (so that students would no longer have to bring books to schools),” the DoST chief said.

He said the Tablet PC, which would merely cost some P3,000, would be reloadable as it would be using memory cards to store the book contents.

“If in the following semester, another sets of books are needed, all you have to do is to change the memo card. So the worth of the PC tablet, which is P3,000 could, be used for the entire college course as it would not just store a single book,” Montejo said.

He said they are presently in coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd) on the project, and doing it in partnership with the University of Sto. Tomas.

While it would cheapen the cost of books minus ink and paper, Montejo said they expect the project to have a negative impact on printing businesses when the project is completed.

Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI), one of the agencies under the DoST, is the one working on the project which has been earmarked a budget of less than P5 million, the DoST secretary said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/295985/tablet-pc-

the glimpser

January 20th, 2011, 04:53 PM

DOST to give hourly flood, landslide warnings soon

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:40:00 01/19/2011

MANILA, Philippines--The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has vowed to deliver hourly hazard information with 100 percent accuracy when they finish installing disaster warning equipment in the country's disaster-prone areas this year.

On a visit to disaster sites in the province over the weekend, Science Secretary Mario Montejo said the hazard warning equipment – rain gauges, weather stations and landslide sensors – would be installed at vulnerable areas this year, starting in Leyte's St. Bernard town.

The equipment, all made locally through a partnership between the DOST and the University of the Philippines Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute, were designed to provide data every hour, DOST said.

“We are accelerating the deployment of these gadgets in 10 sites all over the country that are constantly affected by disasters, especially landslides,” said Montejo in a statement.

“People can prepare themselves better and faster,” he said.

DOST spokesperson Raymond Liboro said the first two landslide warning sensors would be installed “as soon as possible” in St. Bernard town, where a deadly landslide hit on Jan. 2, almost five years since the area was virtually buried by a similar disaster.

The landslide sensors are 20-meter tubes to be installed underground at the foot of the town's landslide-prone mountains.

Montejo visited disaster-stricken areas in Leyte over the weekend and met with local officials to discuss DOST's disaster risk management plan for the hazard-prone area.

DOST has also been upgrading critical equipment at the weather bureau, with the activation of new weather stations to boost the climate reading capabilities of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20110119-315306/DOST-to-give-hourly-flood-landslide-warnings-soon

Askal82

February 8th, 2011, 04:22 AM

^^

On top of that it's a homegrown technology. Now beat that! :) Kudos to our engineers!

UP engineers test landslide sensing system (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20110207-318909/UP-engineers-test-landslide-sensing-system)

If they can design a home grown monorail and a landslide sensing system, then they could be capable of designing a homegrown doppler radar.

Ady001

February 8th, 2011, 04:30 AM

^^ I would love to fund these projects and spend my tax money on these rather than having a few pocket it.

Askal82

February 8th, 2011, 04:33 AM

^^ I would love to fund these projects and spend my tax money on these rather than having a few pocket it.

I think they should get the same lime light with Charice Pempengco and Manny Pacquiao to encourage people to take science and technology very seriously. That's what you call a real national pride. :banana::banana:

hakz2007

February 8th, 2011, 06:15 PM

Reminders:

1. Strong reminder on posting images: provide credit, link to source and respect copyrights! (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/announcement.php?f=585&a=1131)

This is a strong reminder to all forum users that posted images which are not owned and hosted by yourself must be properly credited, a link to the source must be provided and individual copyrights respected. Posted images which are not compliant to this are subject to removal. Thanks all for your cooperation.

2. When posting online articles/news items. (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/announcement.php?f=585&a=477)
When posting articles taken from online sources, please also take the time to provide the link as to acknowledge your source. It's only fair and just to do so. Thank you very much for your cooperation on this matter.

All images and news items/articles posted without proper sourcing or linking will be subject for deletion.

Linguine

February 10th, 2011, 08:27 AM

New technology park pushed for Davao City
DAVAO CITY — The information and communications technology (ICT) sector is proposing a “center of excellence” in the form of a technology park located near schools here as part of efforts to lure more investors.

“It (center of excellence) will be one big community,” Erriberto P. Barriga, Jr., president of the Information and Communications Technology Association of Davao, told journalists here.

He said such a center will provide for the manpower, research and other needs of ICT investors.

The city now has the Damosa complex, located about six kilometers from downtown, that has been operating as an ICT park for about four years now.

However, it hosts only one of six major contact centers here, the rest scattered through the central business district.

The ICT group’s proposal is getting support from the city government, which plans to amend its zoning ordinance accordingly, said Roberto P. Alabado III, acting city planning officer.

Mr. Alabado said it is necessary to amend the zoning ordinance, considering it was last updated in 1997. “We will update it according to the thrust of the city government,” he said.

The city government plans to include the ICT industry among its priority investment areas this year. Hence, the revision to the zoning code will have to address the requirements of the ICT industry, Mr. Alabado said.

http://www.itmatters.com.ph/inside.php?id=588&article_type=news

r0mm3l

February 18th, 2011, 09:00 AM

Here comes the sun: Solar flares make way to Earth

CHICAGO — Radiation from the largest solar flare in four years is expected to reach Earth late on Thursday or Friday.

Such events can cause radio blackouts and interfere with communication satellites, but the most likely outcome this time will be brilliant Northern Lights displays, U.S. scientists said.

NASA scientists on Monday reported an X-class solar flare, the first in more than four years. X-class flares are the most powerful of all solar events that can trigger radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms.

It was one of a series of three solar flares and prompted speculation that a new solar cycle may be ramping up.

"This is one of the first real solar events of the next solar maximum -- that is when you would see the highest number of solar flares," said Brady O'Hanlon, a doctoral student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

O'Hanlon said solar activity typically peaks in 11-year cycles. "We've been at the depths of one of the quietest ever 11-year periods," he said in a telephone interview.

Solar flares are intense, short-lived releases of energy.

They show up as bright areas on the sun, producing high levels of radiation and charged particles that can intensify solar winds -- electrically charged particles continuously spewing outward from the sun.

The Earth's magnetic field largely protects the planet from space weather. But massive solar flares can disrupt power grids, interfere with high-frequency airline and military communications, disrupt Global Positioning System signals and interrupt civilian communications, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which tracks solar flares.

NASA says the particle cloud produced by February 14 event is relatively weak, and most likely will only result in some beautiful sightings of the aurora borealis -- shimmery displays of red, green and purple that are expected to light up the northern sky this week.

But O'Hanlon, who conducts research on space weather and its effects on GPS software receivers, says people who have come to rely on their GPS technology during the period of quiet solar activity may see more interference with their navigation systems as solar activity picks up.

"It's been minimum activity, and we haven't had to really worry about GPS. That may not be quite the case over the next few years," he said. — Reuters

ipur

March 16th, 2011, 05:26 AM

I just wonder if our astronomical society has any idea regarding comet elenin? it seems there are no news at the moment...:ohno:

Nabartek

March 16th, 2011, 05:42 AM

first knight

March 19th, 2011, 03:57 AM

They should not forget to patent this. We can sell these outside the Phils. :lol: Dapat think business and science. :lol:

And speaking of, baka naman puedeng i-tap ng AFP ang DoST? With the China threat, it is more practical to develop our own over buying richer countries' basura (I am not only speaking of the US scraps. Hindi lang tayo sa US bumibili ng basura). Baka makagawa pa sila ng balisong na m-16. Joke lang

I concur.

TambayBlues

March 24th, 2011, 01:13 PM

Much as I admire Dado Banatao's initiative and love for his country, I cannot help but feel that his projects might not be sustainable in the long run since he doesn't require his potential research engineers and scientists to stay in the country even at least for a couple of years after graduating from the finest schools in the US and benefitting from his funding.

There's a good chance that his proteges will end up working for US corporations or even apply for permanent residency instead of coming back to the Philippines were they're supposed to apply their knowledge and skills to help elevate the state of our engineering research capabilities that hopefully will spawn new high-tech industries in the country and reduce our reliance on foreign technology.

Perhaps, what would encourage them to return is if he can provide seed money for these scientists and engineers to establish their own research labs, service and/or manufacturing companies in the Philippines to disseminate, mass produce and/or apply their "disruptive" technologies at home or even enable them to compete in the global marketplace given the chance. This is the same strategy that our more advanced Asian neighbors have been doing for decades to produce world-class companies.

Askal82

March 25th, 2011, 05:40 AM

Nabartek

March 26th, 2011, 06:18 AM

^^ The government should take serious incentives to these people. Take them as a serious INVESTMENT. If they don't ibang bansa makikinabang sa kaalaman ng mga iyan

rain34

April 3rd, 2011, 10:00 PM

Aquino issues Proclamation 138 confering 'National Scientist' award to Perla Dizon Santos-Ocampo in the field of pediatrics

2011-03-31

President Benigno S. Aquino III signed on Wednesday Proclamation No. 138 on March 30 (Wednesday) conferring the title of “National Scientist" on Perla Dizon Santos-Ocampo, MD, in the field of pediatrics.

The government, through Proclamation No. 138, recognizes Dr. Santos-Ocampo’s outstanding contribution as “scientist in the field of pediatrics, as medical educator, leader and mentor, institution-builder and advocate for better health of the Filipino people, particularly, the children.

She made substantial contributions to the research in diarrheal disease that resulted in the development of a super oral rehydration solution, and provided the basis for diarrhea-related policies of the Department of Health.

The research on malnutrition effects on the growth and development of children led to the rational management of nutritional problems among Filipino children. These studies are published in more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed local and international journals.

At the University of the Philippines in Manila where she later became Chancellor, Dr. Santos-Ocampo developed academic programs to enhance the quality and number of medical experts, trainors and child care specialists.

She led the establishment of the National Institutes of Health, the National Graduate School of the Health Sciences, and the National Telehealth Center.

A recipient of various local and international awards, Dr. Santos-Ocampo also served as president in several international pediatric and medical societies.

Signed on March 30, 2011, Proclamation No. 138 is entitled “Amending Proclamation No. 2099 dated June 23, 2010 and According to Perla Dizon Santos Ocampo, MD, the Rank and Title of National Scientist”.

President Aquino issued the proclamation to rectify the previously released Proclamation No. 2099 which was inadvertently titled “According to Perla Dizon Santos Ocampo, MD, the Rank and Title of National Artist”. Instead of
the title National Artist, the Presidential Proclamation was intended to confer the title of National Scientist to Dr. Santos-Ocampo.

Since its creation in 1976, the National Scientist Award has been given annually by the President. The highest national recognition conferred upon Filipino scientists, only 38 or so have been recognized.

The prestigious recognition entitles its recipients the status reserved only for heroes. It also gives them financial gratuity, medical and hospitalization benefits, and a place of honor at all state functions. They are also entitled, upon death, to a state funeral, the same recognition given to National Artists.

http://www.president.gov.ph/news/default.aspx?n=935

TambayBlues

April 11th, 2011, 02:04 PM

Of all the disciplines our country should concentrate on, it should be in the field of materials science, nanotechnology, alternative energy and better agri technologies to boost farmer's incomes. Current lab developments already envision our cellphones, personal computers, game consoles etc. running in the 1,000 Gigahertz range in the not too distant future as opposed to the Pentium 4 which only clocks in at 4Gz at the most, if I'm not mistaken. Check out this article;

New Material Could Lead to Faster Chips - Graphene May Solve Communications Speed Limit

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/graphene-palacios-0319.htmlhttp://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/graphene-palacios-0319.html

absinthe_888

April 11th, 2011, 03:13 PM

^^ DOST gives grants to projects you mentioned. :)

leofriends

April 12th, 2011, 05:10 PM

leofriends

April 12th, 2011, 05:11 PM

Ambitious DOST eyes monorail train in UP by June 2011
Posted on 16 Dec 2010 at 12:07pm

http://newsbytes.ph/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/upmonorail.jpg

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has set an ambitious goal of completing by June next year – which is roughly six months from now – a monorail system at the University of the Philippines (UP) campus in Diliman, Quezon City.

Called the “Automated Guideway Transit” (AGT), the rail-based local mass transit is similar to the MRT and LRT, except that it runs on a single rail which acts as its sole support and guideway, the DOST said.

We are coming up with a local AGT to address the problem of overcrowding in our mass transports,” said DOST Secretary Mario Montejo. “This is how we would want local science and technology to work—to respond to the people’s needs.”

The DOST chief said he has already secured the approval of President Benigno “Nonoy” Aquino for the project, which is expected to cost in the vicinity of P250 million.

Montejo said DOST and UP have laid the ground for the country’s first local prototype of AGT through the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Dec. 6. 2010 at UP Diliman. The MOU formalized the intent of both DOST and UP to establish a prototype of AGT, consisting of two 60-passenger coaches, to traverse a two-kilometer test track in the campus.

The DOST said the AGT requires minimal space as it is elevated and while its tracks cost less to build. According to Montejo, developing the AGT locally will cost only a fifth compared with the price of importing one.

“As it has its own route and track, the AGT will not interfere with existing transport modes, making it traffic- and accident-free. It is also people- and environment-friendly as it runs very quietly and does not emit any smoke or exhaust because it is electrically-run. Finally, the AGT is very safe as it travels very securely along its track,” the DOST said.

To set the AGT project in motion, the DOST said it has designed the detailed engineering plan and schedule of activities for the project. UP, on the other hand, is expected to provide the technical assistance and implement community relations activities.

rawr

April 13th, 2011, 03:50 AM

^^ some of the people i know who works in UP Mech Eng Dept have told me that full scale models are already done and the funds are now available. Cheers.

spearhead

April 13th, 2011, 06:54 AM

^^Ask for some photos from the people you knoh ok?

leofriends

April 13th, 2011, 10:29 AM

^^ some of the people i know who works in UP Mech Eng Dept have told me that full scale models are already done and the funds are now available. Cheers. :cheers:

oh, i thought it's only a planning stage, but if the materials are ready.. that would be great... :banana:

GodIsNotGreat

May 16th, 2011, 07:46 PM

Sir Martin Rees, British astronomer and astrophysicist gives a brilliant talk about our origins and the future of mankind.

3qF26MbYgOA

GodIsNotGreat

May 19th, 2011, 08:42 PM

In a remote village of Turkey, live five individuals who have known no other way of moving other than on all fours. Victims of a congenital defect, and unaided by modern medicine and physical therapy when they were still young, they present an intriguing opportunity for study by scientists.

mUYEVL_2wFk

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0308_060308_all_fours.html

http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080602/full/news.2008.868.html

shranethomas

June 23rd, 2011, 07:53 PM

Sir Martin Rees, British astronomer and astrophysicist gives a brilliant talk about our origins and the future of mankind.

3qF26MbYgOA

Self responsibility siguro ang natutunan ko sa scientist na ito. Kailangang matutunan nating mga tao kung ano ang importante at hinde. Tama yung sinabi nya na before pa mangyari yung pagkamatay ng araw hindi na katulad nating mga tao ang makaka witness non. Baka nasa higher plane of reality ang mga tao non.

Minsan kailangang lumayo din tayo sa masyadong busy na pamumuhay, consumerism at tignan natin ano na nga ba binubuo natin. Baka yung ginagawa natin ay siya pang makapatay sa atin.

Naalala ko tuloy yung movie na Wall-E kung saan sinabi ng captain na wala naman silang ginagawa sa loob ng space ship, dagdag pa doon sabi din "I don't want to survive I want to live". Simple pero may laman.

Kung iisipin natin ano na ba ang ginawa natin sa bayan? Gusto nating magpalakas ng mga armas natin, guto nating protektahan ang sarile natin. Pero sa ibang perspective parang lumayo na talaga tayo sa original na intent natin na palawakin ang kabuhayan natin. Instead malapit na tayong matupok bilang isang lahi or race.

Mercato

June 24th, 2011, 05:33 AM

They had hybridised a lion + tiger = liger. The growth inhibitor for the hybrid cat had been switched off, so now look at the size of that cat. It is the biggest cat alive in the world.

Now on the frontiers of science, they are trying to hybridise human + chimpanzee = humanzee. :ohno:

1zOWYj59BXI

Nabartek

June 24th, 2011, 06:25 AM

^^Hopefully, it is not in our time that we see a "catdog" or a "wolflion"

:lol:

wino

June 24th, 2011, 07:04 AM

^^ why not?

we've already seen a batman and a catwoman, what's wrong with catdog or wolflion?
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Ady001

June 24th, 2011, 07:37 AM

^^ Even our very own Jose Garcia Villa have synthesized a "Doveglion," in words...

shranethomas

June 24th, 2011, 02:29 PM

parang mazingarzee ang tunog ah :lol:

Nabartek

June 24th, 2011, 10:56 PM

baka mamaya maging totoong creature yung tikbalang. half human half horse :lol: (petrang kabayo?)

wino

June 24th, 2011, 11:27 PM

:lol: wag nman sana takot ako sa tikbalang...

Mercato

June 25th, 2011, 03:24 AM

I had already seen some new thingys. Like that hybrid mouse + glow-worm = a mouse which glows in the dark. Another one isn't hybrid but Russians want to clone a woolly mammoth back from extinction ~ they have enough DNA and gonna put the new embryo into an elephant. :lol:

Still on a bolder front, some scientists believe that by reverse engineering the DNA of a chicken they can make the chicken's commercial size grow bigger and faster. The only problem is, if they make mistakes here and there. They might end up with huge chickens with teeth, or chickens with dinosaurian tails instead of feathery stubs or chickens with 4 claws instead of 2 wings and feet. Coz it was discussed that modern birds are descended from the Theropod branch of dinosaurs, which included velociraptors and Tyrannosaurus Rex. :lol:

they also wish to clone back other extinct animals like the Tasmanian Tiger, the passenger pigeon, the dodo, the great auk, etc... just like in Stephen King's Pet Sematary. :D

Mercato

June 25th, 2011, 03:34 AM

mali pala memory recall ko. I remembered this vid from a year and a half ago. :D They really do intend to build a dinosaur from chicken DNA. But my next question. Where are they gonna release all those dinosaurs? :lol: :lol:

Turning Chickens to Dinosaurs
V2JqjwMELFI
60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl spoke about Paleontologist Jack Horner's controversial theory that chickens can become dinosaurs through "reverse evolution."

Jack Horner: Building a dinosaur from a chicken
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Uploaded by TEDtalksDirector on Jun 7, 2011

http://www.ted.com Renowned paleontologist Jack Horner has spent his career trying to reconstruct a dinosaur. He's found fossils with extraordinarily well-preserved blood vessels and soft tissues, but never intact DNA. So, in a new approach, he's taking living descendants of the dinosaur (chickens) and genetically engineering them to reactivate ancestral traits — including teeth, tails, and even hands — to make a "Chickenosaurus".

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate.

Nabartek

June 25th, 2011, 03:40 AM

^^human race gone crazy. Anong susunod nila, mamoth of out...?

Mercato

June 25th, 2011, 03:48 AM

^^ mammoth? yes :yes:

e6YkmypcvUU
Uploaded by CBS on Nov 20, 2008

The discovery of ancient hairballs, with DNA intact, from wooly mammoths in Siberia has allowed the possibility of reconstructing, and resurrecting, an extinct species. Jeff Glor has more.

Could DNA discovery revive Mammoth?
wzqjx2_EFmQ
Uploaded by RussiaToday on Nov 20, 2008

Scientists in the U.S. have discovered the genetic code of the woolly mammoth, an animal that's been extinct since the Ice Age. It's led to fevered speculation that there might one day be hope of reviving it.

shranethomas

June 27th, 2011, 10:14 AM

^^human race gone crazy. Anong susunod nila, mamoth of out...?

Masanay kana kasi mukang mas dadami pa ang ganyan sa mga susunod na taon.:lol::cheers:

GodIsNotGreat

June 29th, 2011, 07:12 PM

Miss USA 2011 contestants are asked the question:

"Should Math Be Taught in Schools?"

9QBv2CFTSWU

GodIsNotGreat

June 29th, 2011, 10:16 PM

A tribe in New Guinea encounters the White Man for the first time. Footage taken in 1976.

-Y-iH3phMRk&NR=1

erbse

July 4th, 2011, 02:45 AM

:cool:

Breathtaking New Images of the Moon (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/moonstruck-heads-up-lro-gives-wonderful.html)

In general, my space & science blog might be of great interest for you: http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com

GodIsNotGreat

July 4th, 2011, 03:47 AM

^^ Thanks for the link. Very Nice.

erbse

July 4th, 2011, 05:42 PM

Thank you too :) It's my blog on space & science.

Biggest Stars & Black Holes In Our Universe (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/biggest-stars-black-holes-in-our.html)

hugodiekonig

July 6th, 2011, 05:59 AM

Anchovy rich in calcium – FNRI

By GABRIEL S. MABUTAS
July 5, 2011, 7:46pm

MANILA, Philippines — Many think milk is the best source of calcium, but a study proved it wrong as it found that one small and cheaper thing is even richer – anchovy.

The Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) found in one of its studies that although a daily cup of milk is indeed rich as it gives 340.55 milligrams (mg) of calcium, but a smaller amount of fresh anchovy could give more than double.

The study showed that 100 grams of fresh anchovy already contains 752 mg of calcium, which is enough to meet the bodies daily requirement of 700 to 800 mg.

The FNRI recommends it as an alternative to milk as there are people who hates drinking milk either because of its taste or because they are lactose intolerant.

Daily body intake calcium is required to keep bones and teeth strong, it noted.

“Bones and teeth are the depository of calcium in our body, where 99 percent of the calcium is stored while 1 percent is in the blood and other tissues. Our body has no capacity to produce this essential mineral. This is why proper attention should be given to ensure that the daily requirement for calcium is being met,” the FNRI said.

The FNRI earlier blamed the prevalence of osteoporosis in the country on the low intake of calcium among kids,

This, after it found out in a study that most children aged six to nine years do not comply with the required intake of calcium.

“Calcium intake is an important modifiable factor related to the attainment of peak bone mass,” the FNRI stressed.

Osteoporosis is a public health problem in Asia and its prevalence is increasing as individuals age. It is disease characterized by decrease in bone mass, causing bones to become brittle and break easily.

The Switzerland-based International Osteoporosis Foundation has predicted that cases of hip fractrures due to osteoporosis, would climb to 6.25 million in 2050, and that 3.25 million or 52 percent of which would be in Asia.

Between 10 percent and 20 percent of patients sustaining a hip fracture die within a year of the event, and among those who survive, almost two-thirds remain disabled.

source link: http://mb.com.ph/articles/325548/anchovy-rich-calcium-fnri

erbse

July 6th, 2011, 12:04 PM

This is pretty cool, SciFi becomes reality:

1st Holographic Video Conference (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/holographic-video-conferences-scifi.html)

erbse

July 7th, 2011, 01:39 AM

Obama calls for technological breakthrough at NASA (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/obama-calls-for-technological.html)

Mercato

July 7th, 2011, 04:22 AM

This is pretty cool, SciFi becomes reality:

1st Holographic Video Conference (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/holographic-video-conferences-scifi.html)Amazing, truly :yes: Thank you for the link.

The new technology saves a lot of airfare and especially time for the users - professors and specialists on speaking engagements, business people, doctors, lawyers & other professionals in their routine consultations (they don't need to drive long distances anymore), maybe even performing artists and in the far future maybe even Presidents & Prime Ministers to save on time and minimize the potential for assassination. :D
Obama calls for technological breakthrough at NASA (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/obama-calls-for-technological.html)He's right to do so. :yes:. They better get their space programs going again and whilst they're at it, they can lay down their Space Charts clearly. Imagine all the vast potential - all the mineral resources, the gaseous resources of the planets at the disposal of the nation who controls outer space... Mars, the Moon and other planets.

If the United States can maintain the peace in Outer Space, thence we need not worry about our neighbour next door, the greedy Red Dragon, who might someday lay down again their dubious Charts to claim entire regions of Outer Space and oh well, the whole Universe as belonging to the Celestial Empire.

erbse

July 7th, 2011, 06:56 PM

Thank you for the feedback :)

But, gosh, beware:

Webb Telescope questioned - Drawback for space exploration? (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/webb-telescope-questioned-drawback-for.html)

:ohno:

Nabartek

July 7th, 2011, 07:31 PM

Ganda nng Holographic video. Kala ko dati pang cartoons lang.... :o

erbse

July 8th, 2011, 06:28 PM

LIVESTREAM: Last ever Space Shuttle flight - Goodbye, Atlantis! (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/last-ever-space-shuttel-flight-goodbye.html)

The actual start is intended to be at 11.26 o'clock local time today (17.26 GMT+1).

More about the final mission, STS-135: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-135

http://i51.tinypic.com/21afuzd.jpg
Space Shuttle goes off the ground on May 14 2010, while a pair of US Air Force F15 jets patrolled the skies. Source. (http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123205663)

archerfish

July 8th, 2011, 07:58 PM

nice picture!

Nabartek

July 8th, 2011, 11:26 PM

Amazing, truly :yes: Thank you for the link.

The new technology saves a lot of airfare and especially time for the users - professors and specialists on speaking engagements, business people, doctors, lawyers & other professionals in their routine consultations (they don't need to drive long distances anymore), maybe even performing artists and in the far future maybe even Presidents & Prime Ministers to save on time and minimize the potential for assassination. :D
He's right to do so. :yes:. They better get their space programs going again and whilst they're at it, they can lay down their Space Charts clearly. Imagine all the vast potential - all the mineral resources, the gaseous resources of the planets at the disposal of the nation who controls outer space... Mars, the Moon and other planets.

If the United States can maintain the peace in Outer Space, thence we need not worry about our neighbour next door, the greedy Red Dragon, who might someday lay down again their dubious Charts to claim entire regions of Outer Space and oh well, the whole Universe as belonging to the Celestial Empire.

China is trying so hard not to be the next US but to be the next Soviet Union :lol: except that they seem to be more "ambitious"

GodIsNotGreat

July 9th, 2011, 02:51 AM

David Christian narrates the history of the universe in 18 minutes

yqc9zX04DXs&feature=player_embedded

erbse

July 9th, 2011, 12:56 PM

In case you missed to watch the final Atlantis launch live yesterday, here's the video in full length and HD:

STS-125 launch from T-2 to MECO - High Definition
gtrB9bELGSY

Go there to watch it in HD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtrB9bELGSY

erbse

July 10th, 2011, 11:24 PM

STS-125 launch from T-2 to MECO - High Definition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtrB9bELGSY
Sorry people, but I posted the wrong video. ^ The above one shows the mission launch STS-125, which happened 2 years ago. That's what you get for picking some YT stuff that quickly I guess ;)

For the final launch stream video on the 8th of July 2011, go there:

The last voyage of Atlantis - STS-135 Space Shuttle Final Takeoff 7/8/11 HD (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/last-voyage-of-atlantis_10.html)

spearhead

July 11th, 2011, 12:08 AM

erbse

July 15th, 2011, 02:48 AM

NASA's Dawn asteroid mission is now becoming really interesting! See more: http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/from-dusk-till-dawn-going-to-vesta-big.html

erbse

July 16th, 2011, 11:36 PM

Check this fresh video:

How a manned asteroid mission could look like (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-manned-asteroid-mission-could-look.html)

erbse

July 19th, 2011, 11:41 PM

Finally!

Closeup Photos from the biggest asteroid we ever passed, 4 Vesta, reach Earth! (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/houston-we-have-feedback-from-4-vesta.html)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Vesta_from_Dawn%2C_July_17.jpg/600px-Vesta_from_Dawn%2C_July_17.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vesta_from_Dawn,_July_17.jpg

Parchie

July 20th, 2011, 04:23 PM

erbse

July 20th, 2011, 04:50 PM

The other one was in stealth mode while the photo was taken. ;)

Wind Shear

July 21st, 2011, 05:42 PM

The other one was in stealth mode while the photo was taken. ;)

:lol:

Probably the person who took a photo is a pilot inside the cockpit of F-15. ;)

By the way this is the actual caption:
Lt. Col. Gabriel Green and Capt. Zachary Bartoe patrol the airspace in an F-15E Strike Eagle as the Space Shuttle Atlantis launches May 14, 2010, at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Colonel Green is the 333rd Fighter Squadron commander and Captain Bartoe is a 333rd FS weapons system officer. Both aircrew members are assigned to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. John Peltier)

r0mm3l

July 22nd, 2011, 11:58 AM

PNoy to pitch for sci-tech at Expo Science 2011
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/07/22/11/pnoy-pitch-sci-tech-expo-science-2011

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III is expected to make a pitch for the country's scientific community 2 days after his State of the Nation Address.

On July 27, the President will deliver the keynote message at the Expo Science 2011 and the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia Complex in Manila.

The event, hosted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in celebration of National Science and Technology Week, carries the theme "Nasa Siyensya ang Pag-asa" (Science is the Hope).

The Science Expo 2011, set from July 27 to 30, will feature the latest initiatives in the science and technology industry: researches, technologies, and services in the areas of food, agri-/aqua-culture, health and pharmaceuticals, disaster management and mitigation, information/communication technologies, bio/nano-technology, manufacturing and engineering, electronics and alternative energy.

Some 80 exhibitors have committed to take part in the event.

On July 28, different schools will take part in a robotics competition and a science quiz show.

"The solutions to many of our problems in the country could be addressed by proper application of science and technology," said Raymund Liboro, Director of the Science and Technology Information Institute.

Notable successes

Liboro said there have been notable successes in the young field of genomics--what he calls 20th century biology for national development.

"In material science, 'nano' is breaking down the form of a specific material and improving on it to become a better product, and these are evolving technologies. We can compete against our neighbors. Hindi pa sila masyadong malayo dito. Puwede tayong makisabay o makihalo," Liboro said on "Dateline Philippines" on ANC recently.

He added the Philippines has made advancements in fighting dengue and malnutrition, and improving access to potable water.

Scientists, he noted, have rolled out an ingenious ovicidal-larvicidal attractant which also acts as a larvicidal, and developed baby food formula that helps address malnutrition in the countryside.

Soon, he said, potable filters using nanotech will also be rolled out on a large scale in areas lacking in water, at the cost of a mere P300 each.

"This year, we're going to concentrate on our agricultural sector. We're looking into technologies that can increase farm yield and give food security to our country," he said.

Research is also ongoing to help solve the fishkill and red tide phenomena.

Government support

Liboro said the Aquino administration is giving much-needed support and attention to the field of science and technology and its potential impact on the country's growth.

"We have a President looking at engineering as a platform, a vehicle to push this country forward," Liboro said, adding the government is also looking at tapping the potentials of information technology for national development.

This week, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the University of the Philippines for a prototype of a Filipino-made monorail [http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/07/18/11/bye-ikot-jeep-try-1st-pinoy-made-mrt].

"For the very first time the DOST has been included by President Aquino in the economic team. That just shows how he looks at the DOST as a direct contributor to our economic development through technology validation, or helping set the roadmap through economic development through science and technology," said Liboro.

Adopting a sci-tech paradigm

Filipinos are known to have a penchant for gadgets. But while high on the techie scale, Filipinos, said Liboro, still need to adopt the science and technology paradigm.

He noted, there is a need for Filipinos to educate themselves on patents and other tools, as well as to taking up science and technology courses.

"The President wants continued education and science and technology to be the bedrock in the country," he said.

Liboro added that while the DOST has 12,000 science scholars under any given time, the agency is looking to expanding its scholarships in the coming years, with 500 new entrants.

DOST Secretary Mario Montejo is looking at improving infrastructure for the Philippine Science High School to encourage scholars to take up further studies to help sustain the field.

The Philippines has overtaken India as a leader in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

Liboro said, by harmonizing all efforts on ICT, the government may yet become more transparent.

"Even a 24/7 government is not far-fetched," he said.

erbse

July 22nd, 2011, 07:12 PM

The end of Space Shuttle Atlantis final mission - Beautiful pictures & videos! (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/welcome-back-space-shuttle-atlantis.html)

GodIsNotGreat

July 23rd, 2011, 01:12 AM

Each of us worships a hero, an idol, an icon; a person that shapes our thoughts and steers our thinking into that which ultimately defines who we are.

Carl Sagan blew my mind. When his TV series "Cosmos" was shown by RPN 9 I was hooked on science and reason. I read all his books.

Here is an astrobiologist considered one of the great popularizers of science in the modern era.

wupToqz1e2g

erbse

August 2nd, 2011, 01:59 AM

^ Great stuff! I've read the book of Sagan with the same title, I can only recommend it.
Though he insists on environmental friendliness and the good of humankind a little too much for my taste.

erbse

August 2nd, 2011, 02:01 AM

It's really astonishing how little we still know about our direct galactic neighborhood, being the Solar System. Two recent discoveries:

First trojan asteroid following Earth's orbit found! (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/look-we-have-chaser-trojan-asteroid.html)

Pluto has a 4th moon, Hubble discovered! (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/07/howdy-p4-you-are-plutos-moon-number-4.html)

carrieso

August 3rd, 2011, 02:27 AM

Why they called it "Trojan"?

kim_pang

August 5th, 2011, 02:17 AM

Defeating dengue
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=64&articleId=713096

FROM THE STANDS By Domini M. Torrevillas (The Philippine Star) Updated August 04, 2011 12:00 AM

I’m listening to Billie Holiday’s jazz classic “Stormy Weather” right now, and the song fits the climate perfectly. I consider myself very fortunate that the only effect these rains have had on me is a bit of lethargy and listless contemplation. Unfortunately, thousands of our countrymen are still reeling over the triple whammy of tropical cyclones “Juaning,” “Kabayan” and “Lando,” and my heart and prayers are with them. The worse part is, PAGASA has stated that another cyclone, “Mina,” is expected to hit the Philippines on Sunday. Indeed, when it rains, it truly does pour.

Even after the wind and rain stop, the damaging effects of a storm continue, often in the form of an outbreak of dengue fever. The mosquitoes carrying this debilitating disease thrive in flooded areas and places with stagnant water, thus making them more pervasive in the aftermath of a heavy downpour. Last year, close to 124,000 Filipinos were infected, and the numbers remain alarming in 2011. In the first six months of the year, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 34,090 cases of dengue, of which 198 ended up to be fatal. What makes these numbers doubly distressing is the fact that most victims involve infants and young children.

There’s good news on the horizon, however, and it’s happening right here in the Philippines. Based on initial results observed from tests conducted in Laguna and Cebu, a potential dengue vaccine may finally be introduced to the market. This vaccine is so promising that it is the first to undergo the advanced “Phase III” clinical trial, which is the last hurdle before it becomes available to the public.

Considering that scientists worldwide have been working on a dengue vaccine for almost 60 years, this is truly an exciting development. Essentially, there are two major obstacles that have made dengue research exceptionally difficult. First, the virus only affects humans, thus making animal testing useless. Second, dengue has four strains, therefore a successful vaccine must induce an immune response against all of these variations.

Assuming that all goes well with the testing phase, a safe and effective dengue vaccine may be available less than three years from now. In fact, regulatory bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) may even decide to fast-track the vaccine’s approval, once its safety and efficiency have been thoroughly established. Given that dengue fever is the most common mosquito-borne illness and is endemic in 100 countries, I am sure that these two agencies recognize the urgency of the situation, and will give the vaccine top priority.

Before the vaccine arrives, vigilance is still the best defense against dengue. It begins with a conscious effort to eliminate possible mosquito breeding grounds like flower pots, roof gutters, or old tires that have accumulated water in them. Regular fogging - a service done for free in many barangays and LGUs - is likewise advisable.

Even the slightest suspicion of dengue must be taken seriously. The WHO and our own DOH have similar guidelines in managing the symptoms of dengue fever: keep the patient well-rested and well-hydrated, and provide paracetamol regularly and in the correct dosage in order to alleviate fever, headache, or muscle pain. It is important to note that in instances where dengue is suspected, aspirin and ibuprofen are not recommended because these may aggravate internal bleeding.

Moreover, since dengue commonly victimizes children, it is crucial to give paracetamol based on the weight of the child, and not his or her age. You don’t want to take chances when it comes to fever caused by dengue, and the variances of children’s body types and sizes make dosage based on age alone unreliable and potentially harmful. The best option would be to consult a pediatrician, who is familiar with the correct charts. I have found one children’s paracetamol brand that has sensibly printed the weight-to-dosage chart right on their box, which makes it all the more convenient.

It is estimated that dengue fever could result in up to a 20 percent fatality rate if the disease is left unmanaged. While the virus may be winning this grim battle at present, we can only hope to stave it off long enough until reinforcements and air support come in the form of a vaccine. Hopefully, it will stay defeated by then.

icarusrising

August 5th, 2011, 03:59 PM

Huawei taps Asia Pacific College to train Filipino engineers (http://ph.news.yahoo.com/huawei-taps-asia-pacific-college-train-filipino-engineers-052606876.html)
loQal – 7 hours agotweet0Plurk!ShareEmailPrintBy Anna Valmero

PASAY CITY, METRO MANILA - Huawei Technologies has partnered with Asia Pacific College to establish a a certification training program for engineering and ICT (information and communications technology) students.

“Through this certification program, we are preparing a qualified manpower pool to fit the requirements of the industry,” said Richard Yang, Huawei country manager for enterprise business group.

After a decade of doing business in the country, this is the first time the network equipment maker assigned a local college as its authorized learning partner under the Huawei certified Datacom Associate or HCDA program.

Yang said this signals Huawei’s business expansion from its traditional base of telecom clients to the bigger enterprise market.

The HCDA program is available to IP network maintenance engineers and other professionals working with carrier-class IP networks.

The curriculum includes IP network basics, Ethernet technology, WAN technology, RIP protocol basics, OSPF protocol basics and its actualization in VRP, fire-wall basics, product knowledge, know-how for network equipment O&M.

HCDA capabilities include conforming with industry norms, and skills to apply routing technology and switching technology.

“Bringing-in Huawei technology and the HCDA courseware in the college can enable the students in learning computer networking and infrastructure beyond classroom experience,” said Yang.

Engineer Stanley Brucal, School of Engineering program director at Asia Pacific College, said the Huawei certification program will help students to learn computer networking beyond classroom work and equip them with skills needed by the industry.

“It will be integrated into the current Computer and Electronics Engineering curricula to strengthen the data communication knowledge and skills of its students,” said Brucal.

Huawei has implemented this training program in China, Indonesia and Thailand.

Fraulein

August 6th, 2011, 04:01 AM

Nasaan na yung article dito about sa sun na nagkaroon ng "aurora" last night. Nakita ko lang dito sa thread yesterday...

erbse

August 6th, 2011, 09:27 PM

Why they called it "Trojan"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_(astronomy) :dunno:

erbse

August 6th, 2011, 09:46 PM

Really geil times for space enthusiasts! :smug:

Liftoff! Juno Sets Sail for Jupiter - Launch & mission overview (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/08/liftoff-juno-sets-sail-for-jupiter.html)

Liquid flowing water discovered on Mars! (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/08/liquid-flowing-water-discovered-on-mars.html)

Earth may once have had two moons (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/08/earth-may-once-have-had-two-moons.html)

Asteroid Vesta spins your head while rotating! (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/08/vesta-spins-your-head-while-rotating.html)

Ekweng

August 9th, 2011, 12:01 AM

PH-made solar car poised for win in race

report from TJ Manotoc, ABS-CBN News
Posted at 08/08/2011 7:01 PM | Updated as of 08/08/2011 8:27 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Four years after their impressive debut at the 2007 World Solar Challenge, the De La Salle University Team are a step closer to taking their third-generation solar car to the World Championships anew.

The team is backed by the Philippine Solar Car Challenge Society.

Called Sikat II, the solar energy-powered car made its first public test run on Monday at the North Luzon Expressway, running from Balintawak to Dau that took a little over an hour with an average speed of 100-110 kilometers per hour.

The test run is one of the final steps in preparation for the team's mission to conquer the world on October 16-23 as they fly off to Australia for the 2011 World Solar Challenge.

The solar energy-powered car will compete with 20 other countries. It will drive 3,000 kilometers from Darwin to Adelaide.

Team Leader Jack Catalan is happy with the 2 test runs made so far. The first one was a private test run in Basa Air Base.

“The team is honored to be representing the country and very proud to have been able to design and create a solar car within seven months, and race it in the World Solar Challenge. Our target for this year’s competition is to finish the race and beat the 12th place performance of Sinag in 2007,” he said.

As a successor to Sinag and Sikat, the new version boasts of many improvements to its design and mechanical features.

Sikat II can run at a speed of 110 kilometers per hour with its 2-kilowatt motor. It weighs 10 kilograms lighter tha Sikat 1, and 110 kilograms lighter than Sinag. It can travel up to 800 kilometers at a speed of 85 kilometers per hour.

Fueled by solar energy alone, Sikat II uses solar cells that are also proudly Philippine-made. The cells are manufactured by Sunpower Philippines.

“Sikat II is a testament to Filipino ingenuity, talent and technological capability in tapping clean and natural sources of energy such as solar power. Just like Sinag and Sikat I, Sikat II is beaming with promise as it not only shows the world what solar energy can do, but what Filipinos can do. We are very optimistic that Sikat II will shine in WSC,” said Federico “Piki” Lopez, PSCS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of First Gen, one of Sikat II’s major sponsors. – with reports from TJ Manotoc, ABS-CBN News

bulabog jalaur

August 9th, 2011, 06:38 PM

Japanese Researchers Levitate Train on Cushion of Air (http://theinstitute.ieee.org/technology-focus/technology-topic/japanese-researchers-levitate-train-on-cushion-of-air)
Researchers take a new approach to high-speed trains
By ANIA MONACO 5 August 2011

http://theinstitute.ieee.org/img/08tiTechPlaneTrain-1312308457372.jpg
Image: Tohoku University

What do you get when you combine a plane and a train? The answer—it is hoped—will be a fast, efficient mode of transportation, according to IEEE member Yusuke Sugahara and his team of researchers at Tohoku University, in Sendai, Japan. The team has developed a prototype of a planelike train that flies inches above the ground. 

The researchers are testing a prototype, which they call the Aero Train. With three stubby wings on each side of a passenger-carrying fuselage, the Aero Train is controlled like a plane but follows a road that’s a little wider than the vehicle, wingtip to wingtip. To deal with pitch, roll, and yaw, Sugahara’s team has focused on building a control system that can stabilize the train. They’re using the prototype to test such a system. 

The researchers in May presented a paper on their work, “Levitation Control of Experimental Wing-in-Ground Effect Vehicle along Z Axis and about Roll and Pitch Axes,” at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, in Shanghai. 

Sugahara is an assistant professor at the System Robotics Laboratory, which is part of the university’s bioengineering and robotics department. He developed the prototype under the guidance of two bioengineering and robotics professors: IEEE Fellow Kazuhiro Kosuge, who is president of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, and Yasuaki Kohama. 

 LIFTOFF 
The Aero Train rushes along a track and manages to lift off the ground, thanks to the ground-effect principle, the aerodynamic interaction between the wings and the ground that creates an air cushion. Propellers move the vehicle, which can travel up to 200 kilometers per hour, according to the researchers. That is slower than the Hayabusa bullet train, Japan’s newest and fastest, which travels up to 300 km/hour using metal wheels on metal tracks, or the Maglev train in Shanghai which, relying on strong electromagnets for levitation and forward motion, can go about 430 km/hour. But the researchers say their vehicle has other advantages, such as lower cost, because it and its “tracks” will be relatively simpler to build. 

The Aero Train, shown in the video below, hovers several inches above the ground. A scaled-up version would travel in a U-shaped concrete channel, which would give the vehicle a road to follow. 

EaN7Kxk1_e8&feature

The team still needs to improve the stabilization system (note the way the Aero Train wobbles in the video). If all goes well, however, the researchers say they plan to build a manned, full-scale version about 85 meters long that could seat 325 people. That is still years away, however. 

Ekweng

August 9th, 2011, 07:06 PM

hindi ba hovercraft lang yan?

bulabog jalaur

August 9th, 2011, 11:51 PM

^^

Hover craft meron syang dedicated Fan to create air cushion which are high pressure air to levitate , while this aero train uses ground effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_effect_(aircraft)#Principle_of_ground_effect) principle to create air cushion.

Parchie

August 10th, 2011, 02:23 AM

bulabog jalaur

August 10th, 2011, 04:34 AM

Russia is ahead on this area, IMO. I heard of some Russian entrpreneurs who test flew their planes (sea planes in fact) in Florida before. The technology is about "ground effect" as mentioned. Since "ground" is never always "flat", they utilized the "flatter" sea to achieve better hover flight. However, like the PAN AM Clippers, salt is one big problem.

In this Japanese case studies and researched they will used guide-way on the aero train, as it is accelerating at high speed ground effect principle will apply that would levitate it. as seen picture below.

http://theinstitute.ieee.org/img/08tiTechPlaneTrain-1312308457372.jpg

rain34

August 10th, 2011, 06:20 AM

Meteorites carried life’s building blocks to Earth, says study
(http://technology.inquirer.net/3095/meteorites-carried-lifes-building-blocks-to-earth-says-study/)
Agence France-Presse
5:11 pm | Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

WASHINGTON – A new analysis of carbon meteorites suggests that they likely carried some of the building blocks needed for DNA to the Earth, according to a NASA-funded study published on Monday.

The research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences adds weight to the long-debated theory that at least some of the materials needed to make early life forms came to our planet via meteorites.

Scientists used advanced mass spectrometry instruments to scan 11 organic-rich meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites for nucleobases, which contribute to making DNA and RNA.

They found three nucleobases — purine, 6,8-diaminopurine and 2,6-diaminopurine — that “are widely distributed in carbonaceous chondrites” and which are “rare or absent in terrestrial biology,” said the study.

Scientists found no significant concentrations of the trio in soil and ice samples near where the meteorites landed, the study said.

“Finding nucleobase compounds not typically found in Earth’s biochemistry strongly supports an extraterrestrial origin,” said Jim Cleaves, one of the study’s authors from the Carnegie Institute of Washington’s Geophysical Laboratory.

“This shows us that meteorites may have been molecular tool kits, which provided the essential building blocks for life on Earth,” Cleaves said.

Previous studies have shown that some meteorites contain nucleobases but that they shared traits with those already on Earth, fueling debate over whether the meteorites carried these elements or were contaminated on impact.

Earlier this year, NASA distanced itself from a space agency employee’s claim that he had sliced open several types of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites and found evidence of alien bacteria fossils inside.

Wind Shear

August 10th, 2011, 07:44 AM

erbse

August 12th, 2011, 03:07 PM

Don't miss the greatest meteor shower of the year in the night of August 12 to 13! Everyone, get your telescopes out of the garret!

Perseids meteor shower - great time to gaze into space! (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/08/perseids-meteor-shower-great-time-to.html)

http://i52.tinypic.com/16jn975.jpg
Perseid meteor shower. Image credit: NASA / Michael Menefee. Full resolution (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortphoto/5272972504/sizes/l/in/photostream/).

Kintoy

August 12th, 2011, 03:28 PM

For Philippines:

Best hours to observe:
11:00pm - 04:30am (PHT)
Peak: Night of Aug 12 to morning of Aug 13
Best: Nights of August 8, 9, and 10 (less moon)

Peak: August 12 & 13
Shower rate: 60-100 per hour
Time Zone: UTC/GMT +8 hours

but:

Moon Forecast: Full Moon

Moon phase is not ideal for gazing at the Perseids meteor shower. The peak of this shower coincides with a full moon, so the moonlight will wash away all but the brightest Perseids meteors.

http://www.spacedex.com/perseids/locations/perseid-asia-philippines.php

bulabog jalaur

August 19th, 2011, 10:17 AM

Just wonder why man just only discover that trail of pencil are graphene and by scotch tape you can just isolate it simply.:lol:

Cjrg_oqYof8&feature

Hope our science department and university here in the country can take advantage of this properties of graphene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene) for industrial application.

GodIsNotGreat

August 20th, 2011, 07:34 PM

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson debunks 2012 Apocalypse myth.

QJjQMwEjC1I

It turned out that the hype about 2012 was done to publicize the movie of the same title. And the movie was horrible; I saw it while shown on the bus on my way to Bicol.

Ekweng

August 28th, 2011, 03:37 PM

Hindi kaya angkinin din ito ng China?

A planet made of diamonds found?
ANI
Washington, August 26, 2011
First Published: 12:31 IST(26/8/2011)
Last Updated: 14:50 IST(27/8/2011)
share more...
11 Comments Tweet email print
Astronomers claim that a planet orbiting a small fast spinning star, called a pulsar, is likely made of diamond. Pulsars are small spinning stars about 20 km in diameter – the size of a small city – that emits a beam of radio waves. As the star spins and the radio beam sweeps repeatedly over

Earth, radio telescopes detect a regular pattern of radio pulses.

Researchers, from The University of Manchester as well as institutions in Australia, Germany, Italy, and the USA, noticed that the arrival times of the pulses were systematically modulated. They concluded that this was due to the gravitational pull of a small companion planet, orbiting the pulsar in a binary system.

But despite its small size, the planet has slightly more mass than Jupiter.

“This high density of the planet provides a clue to its origin”, said Professor Bailes.

The team thinks that the ''diamond planet'' is all that remains of a once-massive star, most of whose matter was siphoned off towards the pulsar.

“This remnant is likely to be largely carbon and oxygen, because a star made of lighter elements like hydrogen and helium would be too big to fit the measured orbiting times,” said Dr Michael Keith (CSIRO), one of the research team members.

The density means that this material is certain to be crystalline: that is, a large part of the star may be similar to a diamond.

The study has been published in the journal Science.

diz

September 12th, 2011, 08:07 AM

Let there be light
The Philippines may be a developing country, but innovation is alive and well.
http://www.noob.us/miscellaneous/let-there-be-light/
JOl4vwhwkW8

ipur

September 14th, 2011, 10:02 AM

Prepared kaya ang earth kung mi kagaya nito na balita? hmmm baka, di na lang siguro ibabalita....

from spaceweather

SUNDIVING COMET:

A comet is diving into the sun today. Discovered just yesterday by amateur comet hunters Michal Kusiak of Poland and Sergei Schmalz of Germany, the icy visitor from the outer solar system is expected to brighten to first magnitude before it disintegrates during the late hours of Sept. 14th.

The doomed comet appears to be a member of the Kreutz family. Kreutz sungrazers are fragments from the breakup of a single giant comet many centuries ago. They get their name from 19th century German astronomer Heinrich Kreutz, who studied them in detail. Several Kreutz fragments pass by the sun and disintegrate every day. Most, measuring less than a few meters across, are too small to see, but occasionally a big fragment like this one attracts attention. Check SOHO for the latest images.

http://spaceweather.com/images2011/13sep11/sundiver5.gif

http://spaceweather.com/

wino

September 14th, 2011, 06:12 PM

^^ awesome time lapse!

monsy

September 16th, 2011, 12:15 PM

Parchie

September 16th, 2011, 06:17 PM

$63-million waste-to-power facility to rise in Pampanga
By MARK ANTHONY N. MANUEL and FRANCO G. REGALA
September 16, 2011, 5:12pm

LUBAO, Pampanga, Philippines — A $63-million waste-to-power facility, a first in the country, will soon rise in this town to solve the garbage problem of the province.

Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda and Lubao Mayor Mylyn Cayabyab on Wednesday signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Pampanga Green Management Inc. (PGMI) and the MacKay Green Energy, Inc. to set up the facility that will convert the province’s garbage into electricity.

The facility will treat Pampanga’s solid waste and use the refuse derived fiber to produce renewable energy. At least 800 metric tons of garbage a day will go through combustion to generate 22 megawatts of electricity, enough to energize 110,000 homes at the rate of one megawatt for every 5,000 houses.

The technology makes use of revolutionary turbines which are under contract in 18 different countries.

“We shall process a guaranteed 800 metric tons of solid waste a day which requires no segregation as this will be done on site,” said James Mackay, chairman of the Pampanga Green Management Inc. (PGMI).

Citing the contract as a landmark agreement, Mackay described the technology as “the most responsible way to treat municipal solid waste.”

“With our system, there will be no longer any need for landfills. With our facility you can be guaranteed to be safe from any leachate, which is very hazardous. Methane issues will no longer be a problem,” Mackay said.

He cited the following benefits of the technology: No more need for landfills as it is able to process all kinds of waste; able to mine existing landfills; no effluent stream; no leachate, no methane; production of non-fossilized fuel; no pollutants, zero emission; generation of electricity; and production of by-products such as fertilizer.

Mackay explained that the turbine process results into clean air since the combustion chamber only happens externally.

Governor Pineda said she welcomes the benefits to be brought to the province, the environment and its people. She mentioned the absence of leachate, methane and other pollutants as particularly good for the health of the people of Pampanga.

“The livelihood to be generated for initially some 300 persons for every 800 MT of municipal solid waste and the education for children instead of having them scavenge for waste for a fee are very good benefits which we look forward to enjoying,” Pineda said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/334562/63million-wastetopower-facility-rise-pampanga

Sorry to burst some people's bubble! The reporter is not updated on the matter. Definitely not a Philippines' first.

Turning Methane from Waste-to-Energy in the Philippines (http://www.genewscenter.com/Press-Releases/Turning-Methane-from-Waste-to-Energy-in-the-Philippines-2d47.aspx)

City Governor, City Mayor and State Undersecretary of Energy Inaugurate New Waste-to-Energy Plant Featuring GE’s Jenbacher Gas Engine Technology
New Plant will Help Address Growing Energy Needs while Reducing Emissions of Methane, a Harmful Greenhouse Gas

LAGUNA, THE PHILIPPINES—December 3, 2010—Bacavalley Energy Inc., the leading waste-to-energy developer in the Philippines, and GE (NYSE: GE) have inaugurated the first landfill gas power plant in the country to feature GE’s Jenbacher gas engines. The project was inaugurated December 2 in a ceremony attended by City Governor ER Ejercito, City Mayor Calixto Cataquiz and State Undersecretary of Energy Loreto Ayson. The San Pedro Landfill Methane Recovery and Electricity Generation project will help meet the Philippines’ growing energy needs while also reducing the emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.

By utilizing methane generated by the San Pedro landfill in Laguna to power GE’s Jenbacher gas engines, the project will reduce the landfill’s methane emissions about 70 percent. The new plant, located 35 kilometers south of Manila, will produce more than four megawatts of electricity for sale to the local grid. Full commercial operation of the new plant is expected by January 2011.

“Bacavalley Energy is pleased to be working with GE on the San Pedro Methane Power Plant project,” said Peregrino Fernandez Jr., president of Bacavalley Energy Inc. “We are confident in the performance of GE’s Jenbacher gas engines and we hope to further our partnership in the future waste-to-energy projects.”

GE supplied four containerized Jenbacher JGC 320 gas engine gensets. Together with DESCO Inc., the authorized sales and service distributor of GE’s Jenbacher gas engines in the Philippines, additional services for up to 60,000 operating hours will be provided. The Jenbacher engines are specifically designed with the fuel flexibility needed to accommodate the use of alternative fuels such as landfill gas, while offering high levels of electrical efficiency. They are approved under ecomagination, GE’s commitment to invest in a future that creates innovative solutions to global environmental challenges.

“San Pedro is a milestone project for us, marking the first installation of our gas engines on a landfill in the Philippines,” said Prady Iyyanki, CEO-gas engines for GE Power & Water. “It is another example of how customers worldwide are turning to new ways of capturing and using waste gases to meet their energy needs. Many of these customers are using our technology to generate power reliably while cutting greenhouse emissions.”
The San Pedro project will be registered under the Clean Development Mechanism of the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change. It also supports the Philippines Department of Energy’s initiative to develop alternative sources of energy and promote cleaner energy sources over the next 20 years.

Bacavalley Energy Inc., which aims to be a leader and a model for the renewable energy industry in the Philippines, is the owner and operator of the San Pedro landfill waste-to-energy project. The lead contractor for the construction of the new plant was Tankerton Construction Corp. of Quezon City, Philippines.

This announcement continues a series of recent actions in GE’s energy business over the past couple of months aimed at growing its overall presence in the global energy space. On Oct. 1, GE announced its purchase of Calnetix Power Solutions, which expands GE’s capabilities to recover waste heat from industrial processes for electricity generation. On Oct. 6, GE announced the acquisition of Dresser Inc., a global energy infrastructure technology and service provider. On October 19, GE announced the development of its new, larger, power-generation gas engine—the J920 engine. With electrical efficiency of 48.7 percent and an output of 9.5 MW, the new engine is the most efficient in its class and it extends GE’s technical excellence in power generation gas engines.

wino

September 16th, 2011, 06:57 PM

^^ sorry to burst your bubble..

the method/process of obtaining energy is actually different if you just pay attention....

Parchie

September 16th, 2011, 07:52 PM

^^ sorry to burst your bubble..

the method/process of obtaining energy is actually different if you just pay attention....

No need to split hairs, wino. Waste-to-energy will mean waste-to-energy no matter what route it takes! Besides, it's not really a first in the country if you only knew what that is. FYI, we already had a coal/ waste + dendro-thermal power plant before that Clean Air Act was framed up by our very intelligent lawmakers. Go figure where that may be.

Mercato

September 20th, 2011, 08:40 AM

http://www.abu.org.my/abu/images/images/Logos//afp_logo_80x80.gif

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/T7ip34TbIceiMV4NAzb8Nw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTI4Mw--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/blogs/ygamesblog/online-gamers-aids.jpg http://l1.yimg.com/a/i/ww/news/2011/09/19/aids_virus.jpg

Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle
By AFP
PostsBy AFP | Plugged In – 13 hours ago

http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/online-gamers-crack-aids-enzyme-puzzle-161920724.html

Online gamers have achieved a feat beyond the realm of Second Life or Dungeons and Dragons: they have deciphered the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had thwarted scientists for a decade.

The exploit is published on Sunday in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, where -- exceptionally in scientific publishing -- both gamers and researchers are honoured as co-authors.

Their target was a monomeric protease enzyme, a cutting agent in the complex molecular tailoring of retroviruses, a family that includes HIV.

...................

GodIsNotGreat

September 23rd, 2011, 10:15 PM

Bats are not birds; they are mammals. Penguins, dolphins and whales are not fishes; Penguins are birds while the latter two are mammals.

Taxonomy is the method of grouping living things systematically in order that they are properly understood as related groups. They also allow for an easier method for their scientific study.

One clue to the bat’s proper classification as a mammal is their homologous skeletal structure. An examination of the bat’s hand shows that the bat possesses the equivalent bones of a human’s. The bat is able to fly because it evolved the extended skin or filament between its fingers which functions like the bird’s wing. Like most mammals, it gives birth to a live young and nurses it.

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/8120/image004ex.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/18/image004ex.jpg/)

Whales and dolphins were descended from land-dwellers who then managed to evolve as denizens of the territory of both the shallow sea and the inter-tidal shore, and ultimately as deep sea creatures. Fossils of intermediate forms have been found that show the gradual evolution of the original terrestrial animal to their present forms.

Dolphins and whales betray their mammalian origins by a few vestigial structures and the way they move. While fishes swim with a side-to-side motion, dolphins and whales propel themselves mainly with their flipper, with a motion describing a plane in the vertical axis, much like the running motion of a four-legged mammal (say, a cheetah) chasing a prey. DNA analysis confirms that they are much closer genetically to hippos than to fishes.

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/7156/whalesgraph.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/692/whalesgraph.jpg/)

o92x6AvxCFg&feature=youtube_gdata

____________________

http://www.amazon.com/Why-Evolution-True-Jerry-Coyne/dp/0670020532

http://www.amazon.ca/Greatest-Show-Earth-Evidence-Evolution/dp/1416594787

Ekweng

September 24th, 2011, 09:54 AM

Pinoys on time: 'Juan Time' launched
By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) Updated September 24, 2011 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) launched yesterday the “Juan Time” campaign that aims to promote time-consciousness among Filipinos.

“With Juan Time, Filipino time will come to mean on time and no longer late,” Science Secretary Mario Montejo said.

The DOST’s Science and Technology Information Institute said the campaign was aimed at promoting the nationwide use of Philippine Standard Time (PST). Juan Time is a word play on “One Time,” with “Juan” being the common name for Filipinos.

Montejo urged the public to synchronize all watches with the official time, which can be viewed on the website of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph.

According to the DOST, “Filipino time” describes the Filipinos’ penchant for starting, or arriving at, events some 15 to 30 minutes later than the set time.

“It has become a notorious habit that, unknown to many, pulls back the country in terms of lost productivity,” the DOST said.

“PST, the country’s official time, sets only one common time in the archipelago’s more than 7,100 islands,” Montejo said.

He said Juan Time reminds Filipinos that keeping to the PST avoids the difficulties of having confusing, unsynchronized time.

The PST was established decades ago under the auspices of PAGASA, an attached agency of the DOST, but was never strictly enforced.

PAGASA has been the country’s official timekeeper since 1978 per Section 6 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 8.

The PST is set via PAGASA’s timing system that consists of rubidium atomic clock, Global Positioning System receiver, time interval counter, distribution amplifier, and a computer. The system automatically calculates its time difference with every satellite within its antenna’s field of view.

To effectively implement the Juan Time campaign, the DOST has partnered with the SM Mall of Asia, Metro Manila Development Authority, SM Supermalls, Nido Fortified Science Discovery Center, Team Manila, Lamoiyan Corp., and Discovery Channel.

bulabog jalaur

September 24th, 2011, 01:18 PM

Challenging Einstein is usually a losing venture

http://www.dawn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/EINSTEIN-ap543.jpg

On Thursday, the world’s biggest physics lab unveiled a shocking finding: that one type of subatomic particle was clocked going faster than the speed of light. If true — a big if, even the scientists there concede — it could undercut Einstein’s theories.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef015435a68e3a970c-600wi

Physicist Michio Kaku of City College of New York called it “the biggest challenge to relativity in 100 years.”

Antonio Ereditato, who participated in the European experiment as head of the Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental Physics in Bern, knows what is at stake. After his team fielded two hours of technical questions, some a bit sharp, from a skeptical audience Friday, Ereditato had a beer in hand and was asked about the idea that his work was challenging the secular saint of modern physics.

“Yes, that’s why I’m concerned,” he said with a laugh.

There’s a long history of experimental results that at first seem to contradict relativity, only later to be found to fit neatly with the theory Albert Einstein loved for its simplicity and elegance.

“It’s dangerous to lay odds against Einstein,” said Rob Plunkett, a physicist at the Fermilab near Chicago who has tried similar speed-of-light experiments and will now try to test the new findings.

Even Einstein himself was wrong in 1929 when he called his cosmological constant his “biggest blunder.” He introduced the constant in his general relativity theory as a force that keeps the universe from collapsing. In 1998, new findings showed that the universe is accelerating and that in general Einstein’s “blunder” wasn’t a mistake.

Harvard University science historian Peter Galison said Einstein’s relativity theories have been challenged and “pushed on as hard as any theory in the history of physical sciences ever” and they have survived.

The elegance of Einstein’s theory and its proven track record are why nearly every one of the more than a dozen physicists contacted by The Associated Press about the new findings has been cautious, skeptical or downright disbelieving.

The research is the result of a collaboration between France’s National Institute for Nuclear and Particle Physics Research and Italy’s Gran Sasso National Laboratory.

The scientists fired a beam of neutrinos 454 miles underground from Geneva to Italy. They found it travelled 60 nanoseconds faster than light. That’s 60 billionths of a second, a time no human brain could register.

“You could say it’s peanuts, but it’s not. It’s something that we can measure rather accurately with a small uncertainty,” Ereditato told the AP.

On Friday, hundreds of scientists packed an auditorium at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, on the Swiss-French border to hear the details. Physicists on the team said they were as surprised as their skeptics about the results, which appear to violate the laws of nature as we know them.

Going faster than light is something that is just not supposed to happen, according to Einstein’s 1905 special theory of relativity. The speed of light — 186,282 miles per second — has long been considered the cosmic speed limit.

“If you find some matter particle such as the neutrino going faster than light, this is something which immediately shocks everybody, including us,” Ereditato said.

The experiment needs to be independently reviewed — most likely by teams in the US or Japan.

“If this result holds, and I kind of doubt it, it means we’ll have to rewrite all of modern physics,” said Kaku, author of the book “Physics of the Future” and host of a Science Channel television show. “Einstein has come out ahead every single time. However, this time you’re talking about the largest particle accelerator in the world registering a significant deviation in relativity.”

Columbia University physicist Brian Greene said he would “bet just about everything I hold dear that this won’t hold up to scrutiny.” But even if the results are confirmed, Einstein’s theories will need more of a patch than anything else, he said.

Ereditato agreed.

“When Einstein did his relativity, it didn’t destroy what Newton did. In fact, Newton explains 99.9 per cent of what is happening around us. But still, in some special conditions of matter, you are forced to use special relativity,” Ereditato said. “Now suppose we would find one day that under extreme conditions you have to take into account corrections to what we know now. This doesn’t mean that Einstein’s wrong.”

And this is the glory of science, said Don Howard, who lectures on Einstein and heads the Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values at Notre Dame University. Experiments are allowed, even encouraged, to challenge pillars of science.

“Everything is up for grabs,” Howard said. “Even a genius like Einstein.”

Science are cool and weird! (http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/24/challenging-einstein-is-usually-a-losing-venture.html) If proven, this will be the second blunder for Einstein after cosmological constant?????:)

GodIsNotGreat

September 27th, 2011, 05:56 PM

I think one of the best sites for science videos in the Net is PBS NOVA. They have topics ranging from nature, engineering, history, hard sciences, etc. I don't know, however, if the videos can be seen in all areas.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

You can start with this three-part series on 'Human Origins'; each episode is quite long though at almost one hour.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/becoming-human-part-1.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/becoming-human-part-2.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/becoming-human-part-3.html

Mercato

September 27th, 2011, 06:13 PM

^^ I am interested in that part where humans morphed according to the environments - 2 of special interest were a race of giants somewhere in the Middle East and the other a race of dwarves. The dwarves, I had seen photos of their skeletons on the island of Flores in Indonesia. It was a Nat Geo episode but I forgot which one.

GodIsNotGreat

September 27th, 2011, 06:28 PM

^^ Very interesting finds in the field of archaeology in the last 5 years, notably fossils from Chad and from the island of Flores, as you mentioned. There is also a new species of proto-humans identified as Denisovans, found in Europe.

Mercato

September 27th, 2011, 06:37 PM

^^ Here's the Nat Geo link to the "Hobbits". What I had wanted to look at again was the cable episode.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/2215/Overview

Tiny Humans: The Hobbits of Flores

manila_eye

September 27th, 2011, 06:42 PM

^^ I remember Homo Floresiensis :)

The giant people according to some Sumerian texts did exist. Even the bible mentioned those "giant people".

Nabartek

September 27th, 2011, 09:01 PM

Mercato

September 28th, 2011, 05:16 AM

^^ of course not, dude.

Negritos are full fledged modern Homo sapiens and much, much taller than Floresiensis. The Hobbits of Flores stood only a li'l over 3 feet tall.

Manila-X

September 28th, 2011, 05:20 AM

Editorial
Respect for time
Philippine Daily Inquirer
9:52 pm | Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

http://opinion.inquirer.net/12991/respect-for-time

It’s not true that everything in the Philippines runs on “Filipino time”—the disreputable but widely tolerated national habit of always being late. Not many are aware, for instance, that nearly all the country’s professional theater companies start their shows on the dot, a practice now established enough in the local theater community as to have become unremarkable, even expected. Among the lot of performing artists, at least, it’s considered a high mark of unprofessionalism and lack of commitment to arrive for rehearsals late, or defy one’s call time, or—horrors—be tangled up in traffic and other sundry hurdles even as the lights are dimming and the curtain gets ready to rise.

Artists, of course, don’t have a monopoly on this virtue. Look around, and you realize this country is not lacking in individuals and entities with a healthy respect for time, whether imposed by workplace culture or one’s own conscientiousness.

Companies and businesses all over the country operate by their own rigorous rules on punctuality and respect for the clock, from delivery of crucial services to running internal operations. Many organizations employ a variety of means to encourage employees to show up for work on time, from rewarding the perennial early birds to penalizing the perennial latecomers. Workers who are serious enough about getting ahead in their careers know that their job appraisal hinges in part on their punctuality record—their availability to do the job, in other words, to be at their desk performing the task assigned to them within the compensated time the company expects them to. It’s no coincidence that the most accomplished people around are also, almost always, the most fanatical when it comes to fulfilling commitments on time.

It’s not the bleakest of records, but—yes, the Filipino is still, often enough, defined by a general lackadaisical attitude towards the clock—and towards the very mindset that underpins it. Too many of us continue to think being late is no big deal, and making a fuss about it is the big deal. The habit, since perceived as being practiced by nearly everyone and his cousin, no longer provokes outrage, merely a sigh of resignation or a shrug of the shoulders. Worse, it can be contagious. Keep one waiting crossly long enough, and he will think it’s normal, justified even, to do the same the next time around.

Ignoring a culture of delinquency has measurable consequences. In the United States, HR magazine once estimated that tardiness “costs US businesses more than $3 billion each year in lost productivity. The effect on the bottom line of the average business is significant: An employee who is late 10 minutes each day has, by the end of the year, taken the equivalent of a week’s paid vacation.”

That estimate was made in 2005. Six years later, the costs should be much bigger.

Transpose that figure to a country that has even learned to coin a term for its dubious custom—which, while perhaps moderated by rules in the workplace, is presumably freer to run rampant outside of it in the ordinary, day-to-day lives of people—and the picture becomes much more depressing. Jacque Ruby, Discovery Channel’s representative in Manila, sees it in starker terms: Habitually being late is “a social ill. It is no different from gambling, from eating disorders, because it affects relationships, it even affects your career. The problem is Filipinos have gotten used to it.”

Now, Ruby and the Department of Science and Technology have banded together to launch “Juan Time,” a campaign to reinvent “Filipino time” into something more edifying than the shorthand for national tardiness that it is at present. “With Juan Time, Filipino time will come to mean ‘on time’ and no longer late,” said Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo.

Juan Time also encourages everyone to synchronize their watches with the Philippine standard time displayed on the website of Pagasa, the official timekeeper of the Philippines by law since 1978. But “Juan Time is not just about standardizing our time, it’s time management… Otherwise, you will miss the important things,” said Ruby.

Are they tilting with windmills? Maybe. But it’s still an initiative worth supporting, for the important shift in mindset it may help engender. After all, if this country could learn to lay off on the excuses and show up on time, set aside procrastination and fix itself to deliver, it could find itself outside of its present mediocre straits and on the path to better things. It’s been a laggard long enough.

Nabartek

September 28th, 2011, 05:29 AM

It should start with government agencies :D And the politicians who are expected to "show up"

Parchie

September 28th, 2011, 06:23 AM

So, no more coming to the office around 10am and leaving early before 4pm?

Mercato

September 28th, 2011, 08:36 AM

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS2m8270wJ6vgSV1nPYgyHcjH_8Y2VM1py_pbbderw29ES7E_SaQA

Glowing Kittens Fight Feline AIDS (http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/09/glowing-kittens-fight-feline-aid.html)
by Sarah C. P. Williams on 11 September 2011, 1:00 PM

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/assets_c/2011/09/sn-cats-thumb-800xauto-10980.jpg

Scientists have genetically modified cats by infecting their eggs with a virus containing a foreign gene—the first time this method has worked in a carnivore. Experts say the advance could make the cat a valuable new genetic model—and potentially protect it from an HIV-like virus.

There are two AIDS epidemics in the world: one in humans, the other in cats. Whereas we can become infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), cats fall victim to the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), which causes nearly identical symptoms. The viruses, known as lentiviruses, are different enough that cats can't catch HIV and people can't get FIV, but most of their basic biochemistry is the same.

Previous studies have suggested that a protein called TRIMCyp is what keeps humans and monkeys from being infected with FIV. The protein, which cats lack, is thought to recognize the virus's outer shell and target it to be degraded. ... ... ...

InfinitiFX45

September 28th, 2011, 08:02 PM

Silicon Philippines: Is it real?

Bottomline By MICHAEL ALAN HAMLINSeptember 28, 2011, 4:27am

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/335824/silicon-philippines-is-it-real

MANILA, Philippines — Deep-pocketed investors are again in a frenzied fight to fund Silicon Valley Internet startups on the back of LinkedIn’s successful IPO, Facebook’s surprisingly sustainable rapid growth internationally, and Twitter’s increasing popularity.

Investors are anxious. “Suddenly everyone wants to invest in Silicon Valley,” Bull Gurley, a partner in venture firm Benchmark Capital recently told reporter Monica Langley for a report published in The Wall Street Journal.

“It’s game-on all the time,” Mr. Gurley seemed to gush.

“The frothy market is creating a velvet-rope effect,” Ms. Langley wrote. “AngelList, a website where entrepreneurs and investors match up, says it has turned away 3,000 potential investors in the past year. ‘We don’t let in brand-new angels who aren’t trusted members of the community,’” site director Naval Ravikant explained. The purpose is to shield entrepreneurs from “pushy” investors.

For tech entrepreneurs in the Philippines, the a frenzy of investor largess must seem like an impossible dream.

Venture capital firms typically complain that the ideas they are presented with here aren’t up to Silicon Valley standard. Or, that the technical and management expertise of startups doesn’t provide the comfort levels investors are looking for. But the real reason seems to be that they aren’t located in Silicon Valley, or some other hotbed of entrepreneurship.

One of the investors cited in Ms. Langley’s story plowed almost $12 million into a Silicon Valley-based startup – “pegging its valuation at $60 million” – that does nothing more exciting than ordering “a car service from a cellphone.” The Philippines has plenty of “buzzy” startups that save for their location here might attract similar valuations.

They include innovative smart phone app developers, a hugely popular auction site, and software developers.

And then there is a company called Morphlabs, which calls itself a “leader in converged Dynamic Infrastructure solutions for the Enterprise.” While I’ve tried to recast that description into somewhat more everyday English, I haven’t been entirely successful. The company provides remote servers – “in the cloud” – and operating environments that other companies can use to develop software applications.

The Silicon Valley company developing the car service ordering solution – Uber – would probably find Morphlabs’ mCloud Data Center Unit solution useful for quickly and cost-effectively configuring development servers on which Uber can develop and refine its offering. In a demonstration recently in Manila, Morphlabs engineers showed how quickly, and seamlessly that’s done.

To understand the advantage of mCloud, consider that in the past startups and other companies developing software applications had to purchase servers, operating systems and software, and other technology infrastructure before they could begin work. That could take weeks or even months to do, and some serious capital outlays. With mCloud, it takes about 15 minutes, and software developers only pay for space and operating environments they need as they need them.

There are other companies that provide such services, but mCloud is one of the best, according to judges involved in assessing entries to the Best of InterOp Awards in the cloud computing category last year. It was one of three finalists, including multinational technology giant IBM. The InterOp Awards is organized by InformationWeek Analytics, a “premium content service for technology leaders.”

Earlier this month, Morphlabs announced that it has raised $5 million in Series C funding, led by investors in Japan and Indonesia. In all, Morphlabs has received approximately $12 million, according to its CEO, Winston Damarillo. His company will use the new funds to “fuel immediate deployments in the ASEAN region as well as select deployments in North America.” These deployments enable partners to sell the mCloud solution to their customers.

Why has Morphlabs been at least reasonably successful in raising venture capital compared to the average technology startup in the Philippines? One reason is probably Mr. Damarillo’s track record. (Disclosure: Morphlabs is a client of my firm.)

He founded Gluecode Software, an open source application infrastructure company acquired by IBM in 2005. Another company, Logicblaze, which provided open source development support, was acquired by Iona Technologies in 2007, and yet another startup, Webtide – which helps developers using a Java technology – was acquired by Intalio, a firm that also offers open source cloud solutions as Morphlabs does.

Mr. Damarillo also founded Exist Software, which develops enterprise and other software solutions for FORTUNE 500 companies in the finance, healthcare, telecommunications, entertainment & media, transport & logistics, and software & technology industries. Like Morphlabs, Exist is located in the Philippines, and its solutions are developed by Filipinos working primarily in Manila and Cebu.

Or maybe it’s just the “X-Factor.” The determination to demonstrate that the Philippines not only can be, but is, a place where world-class technology solutions and products are created.

* * *

(Michael Alan Hamlin is the managing director of TeamAsia and a Manila-based author. His latest book is High Visibility: Transforming Your Personal and Professional Brand. Write him at mahamlin@teamasia.com.).

Mercato

September 29th, 2011, 05:27 AM

Amongst all the pics, I had seen the Solar Supertrees of Singapore and is still under construction as of this writing. What we wish to see is a Philippine entry. With a population of 90M+ and with a high number of architecture grads, surely... But imagine this, hundreds of Philippine skyscrapers wrapped in glittering solar panels. Some skyscrapers below have combo Solar and Wind technologies. The descriptions for each building is discussed more in the article. :cool:

Solar Powered Towers: 13 Super Sunny Skyscrapers (http://webecoist.com/2010/09/27/solar-powered-towers-13-super-sunny-skyscrapers/)
By Steph in Art & Design, Technology & Gadgets

Nearly all sustainable architecture concepts include solar energy in some way, but not all of them do it in a big, bold way, bringing solar power to towering new heights. These 13 soaring solar powered skyscrapers incorporate solar cells in new and unexpected ways, from photovoltaic facades for existing buildings to flexible solar membranes that act as a building’s living ‘skin’.

http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-main.jpg

Chicago Solar Tower
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-chicago-solar.jpg

The Lighthouse, Dubai
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-lighthouse-dubai.jpg

EDITT Tower, Singapore
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-editt-singapore.jpg

Stackable Solar Skyscraper, Mexico City
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-vertical-park-mexico-city.jpg

Solar Membrane-Covered Tower Concept
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-membrane-concept.jpg

Structural Geodesics Skyscraper, Armenia
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-structural-geodesics.jpg

10MW Tower
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-10mw-dubai.jpg

Solar City Tower, Rio de Janeiro
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-rio-waterfall-olympics.jpg

Dubai Vertical Village
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-dubai-vertical-village.jpg

Solar Supertrees in Singapore
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-supertrees-singapore.jpg

Landau’s Abu Dhabi Tower
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-landau-abu-dhabi.jpg

Almeisan Tower, Dubai
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-almeisan.jpg

Solar-Powered Vertical Farm on the London Bridge
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-london-bridge-farm1.jpg

CIS Solar Tower, Manchester
http://cdn.webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/solar-towers-manchester-CIS.jpg

:cool: :cool: :cool:

InfinitiFX45

September 29th, 2011, 08:16 AM

Japan's Murata to build chip plant in PHL

by AMITA O. LEGASPI, GMA News Online 09/28/2011 | 06:58 PM

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/233693/business/japans-murata-to-build-chip-plant-in-phl

A Japanese electronics components firm, Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd., is set to establish a 23-hectare chip capacitor plant in the country, a Malacañang official said.

Presidential Communications Operations head Sonny Coloma Jr. relayed the information to reporters Tuesday following the business meeting President Benigno Aquino III had with Murata officials at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan.

The information was released to Malacañang reporters Wednesday.

He added Murata plans to bring to the Philippines a new generation of technology in chip manufacturing through the factory it will set up in the First Philippine Industrial Park in Laguna.

Coloma showed members of the Philippine media delegation covering the President’s official visit to Japan a sample of the so-called “monolithic ceramic microchip capacitor."

He said the product would be available to the Philippine electronics industry by October 2012 as Murata targets to complete its 23-hectare factory by then.

“You will see how microscopic the chips are — very small… This is the new generation of technology in chips manufacturing and Murata is establishing the plant in the Philippines," Coloma told reporters during a press briefing at Tokyo Kaikan.

Coloma described Murata company as “one of the world’s largest makers of electronic components used in many devices such as computers, mobile phones, automotive navigation, airbag systems and medical equipment."

Originally based in Nagaokakyo, Kyoto, Murata was started by its honorary chairman, Akira Murata, as a personal venture in October 1994. At present, it is considered as the leading company in manufacturing ceramic passive electronic components, primarily capacitors, and it has an overwhelming worldwide market share of ceramic filters, high frequency parts, and sensors.

Murata Manufacturing reportedly has 23 subsidiaries in Japan and 31 overseas, including those in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Hungary, Finland, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea, and China.

Business prospects

More business leaders met with Aquino Wednesday, hours before his departure for Manila, Malacañang said.

Members of the Asian Business Council led by Nobuyuki Idei, long-time CEO of Sony Corp., spoke with the President to discuss business prospects for the Philippines as they conveyed great interest to invest in the country.

Yoshihiko Miyauchi, chairman and CEO of Orix Corp., observed that the level of Japanese investments in the Philippines seemed to have slowed and his company would like this situation to be improved significantly, Coloma said.

“He [Miyauchi] noted that the timing of the President’s visit is quite good as many Japanese companies are willing to invest in the country. He mentioned ship-building as an industry with good potential," Coloma added.

Idei reported that Sony recently established a call center in the Philippines. President Aquino earlier cited the business process outsourcing industry as one of the major contributors to government revenues — about P14 billion, with 640,000 jobs generated.

Council members are interest in knowing which are the strategically important businesses in the Philippines today. The President told them that tourism is on top of the list as it can be considered a “low-lying fruit."

Quoting Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Coloma said the ASEAN integration will be realized by 2013 and this will be a good investment opportunity for Japanese companies.

Apart from his Cabinet secretaries, President Aquino was accompanied by members of his business delegation led by SM Investments Corp.’s vice chairman Tessie Sy-Coson and Magsaysay Maritime Co.’s chief executive officer Doris Magsaysay-Ho.

After his engagement with the Asian Business Council, the President met with members of the Japan Shipowners’ Association (JSA) led by its president Akimitsu Ashida. Coloma said President Aquino thanked JSA for its “continuing efforts to combat piracy, especially in Somalia, to ensure the safety of Filipino seafarers".

JSA companies employ around 35,000 Filipino seafarers and they continue to make substantial investments in equipment to upgrade training and development, according to Eduardo Manese, president of the Philippine-Japan Manning Consultative Council and chairman of Magsaysay Maritime Corp. — VS, GMA News

Manila-X

September 29th, 2011, 03:48 PM

4 Filipino students reap top awards in int’l science competition
By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
6:30 pm | Thursday, September 29th, 2011

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/14107/4-filipino-students-reap-top-awards-in-int’l-science-competition

MANILA, Philippines—Four Filipino high school students made top rankings in an international student competition on the earth sciences this month, fetching medals for the Philippines in a battle among 26 nations.

Williard Joshua Jose of the Philippine Science High School took home a gold medal for his scores in the 5th International Earth Science Olympiad, a nine-day exam-type competition held this year in Modena, Italy.

Christoper Jan Landicho of the PSHS Bicol Region Campus and Charles Kevin Tiu of the St. Jude Catholic School in Manila won silver medals while John Allan Olesco of the Aquinas University Science High School won a bronze, the Department of Science and Technology said Thursday.

The Philippine team garnered top scores in both written and practical examinations in geology, meteorology, oceanography, terrestrial astronomy and environmental sciences during the competition in Italy, Europe’s first hosting of the annual event.

The two-layer test includes written exams, which “measure the participants’ knowledge and understanding of Earth science areas,” and practical exams “consists of tasks designed to assess participants’ abilities to carry out scientific investigations in earth science inquiries,” IESO said on its website.

The Philippines hosted the event in 2008, bringing young science aces from all over the world to Bicol.

“The IESO is intended to raise student interest in and public awareness of earth science, to enhance earth science learning of students, and to identify talented and gifted students in earth science,” said Filma Brawner, Director of DOST’s Science Education Institute.

“Competitions make pupils go beyond what they learn inside their classrooms. With time pressure incorporated in competitions, students are trained to work with grace under pressure. But, more importantly, exposure to international competitions should translate into entry into science careers,” she said.

While making do with limited public education funds, the Department of Education this year released P330 million to acquire tools and equipment for science laboratories in some 435 public high schools across the country.

On DepEd’s shopping list are equipment for classes in integrated science, biology, chemistry and physics.

DepEd also established 100 new special science schools this year, doubling the number of elementary schools offering specialized science learning.

“The marching order is for us to continue to find ways to develop a new generation of science and technology-savvy graduates who will bring us to new levels of economic progress,” said Education Secretary Armin Luistro.

GodIsNotGreat

October 4th, 2011, 02:03 AM

In the northeast corner of Africa, a largely unnoticed and lurking geological drama is taking place. A great wound in the earth, running roughly along the N-S axis, is slowly opening up, caused by the upward pressure of magma (molten rock) that crumples the sediments and rocks that overlay it. The fault that is widening will ultimately tear asunder the northeast chunk from the rest of the continent, and in time the rupture will open up, permitting the waters coming from the Red Sea in the north to rush in and fill the valley floor, forming a sea. The piece of dismembered African real estate will drift away towards the Indian Ocean, duplicating what happened hundreds of millions years ago when a similar event farther south of the continent resulted in the breakaway island of what is now Madagascar.

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/9632/africarift.th.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/411/africarift.png/)

The Great Rift Valley, as what the fissure is geologically known, is actually a series of faults that has all sorts of land features that attest to its being geologically active. Valley floors of varying widths are bounded by columns of rock; undulating stretches of lava flows, numerous active and dormant volcanoes, lakes, uplifted sediments.

The geological phenomenon that will result in the formation of this future sea is evidence of a dynamic earth. Our planet’s crust is punctured in many places by magma and broken up by tectonic plates that are pushing past each other, some against each other and others away from each other. Humans are so often reminded every now and then of this by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that are frequently destructive and deadly.

http://geology.com/articles/east-africa-rift.shtml

This is a clip from the episode in David Suzuki's presentation in CBC's On The Nature Of Things (another excellent website for science and nature)

w7Y2R4KBwvo

Another clip showing the Earth's landmasses millions of years before and after the present time. This is speculative, but instructive.

uGcDed4xVD4

Nabartek

October 4th, 2011, 05:24 AM

^^ Parang matatanggal na ang Somalia :lol:

InfinitiFX45

October 5th, 2011, 01:27 AM

Philippines ranks zero in R&D :ohno::ohno::ohno:

Bottomline by MICHAEL ALAN HAMLIN October 5, 2011, 12:14am

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/336659/philippines-ranks-zero-rd

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines ranks at the very bottom – where it is tied with Bangladesh – of a recent survey of IT competitiveness in research and development (R&D). :ohno::ohno::ohno:

This means less R&D takes place in the Philippines (0.0) than in Indonesia (0.1), Sri Lanka (0.1), and Vietnam (0.2). The survey, IT Industry Competitiveness Index 2011, was developed and is administered by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

In this year’s survey, the Philippines dropped a notch overall from 51 to 52 out of 66 countries. Singapore was number three in the world, up six places, after the United States and Finland. Taiwan was 13 and Japan 16. South Korea, which was down three places, and Hong Kong tied for 19, with Hong Kong rising two slots. Within Asea n, only Indonesia and Vietnam overall fared worse than the Philippines.

The results are surprising, but not. No one believes that no R&D takes place in the Philippines, although it is true that compared to its neighbors, the Philippine government invests precious little in fundamental research. But as I wrote last week about a company called Morphlabs, some impressive R&D does take place.

And although startup R&D is hard to come by, large local and multinational technology companies including Conti Temic, IMI, Lexmark, Nokia, and TrendMicro are doing it but have nothing to gain from sharing that information.

One of the reasons they have nothing to gain is that there are no brownie points for pointing to research being conducted in the Philippines. The popular myth associated with the Philippines is that it is a center for low-value voice services for the business process outsourcing industry (BPO). Its major IT-BPO competitors – India and China – seek to perpetuate this myth so that high-value, complex services come their way.

So far, they are being effective doing so with the result that there is no or little prestige to be associated with outsourcing value-driven, high-margin original R&D and other work to the Philippines. While these competitors have obvious strengths particularly in high-value IT services, they are successful in “positioning” the Philippines as a mature low-cost, low-value services center because the Philippines does little to communicate its positive attributes and capabilities.

That reluctance to communicate also explains the poor showing – at least in part – that the Philippines routinely turns in on competitiveness surveys. The BSA IT competitiveness survey results show that the Philippines is perceived as an IT backwater.

The reality is different, although the Philippines can certainly improve its IT competitiveness. In fact, the BSA survey, composed of six categories, does show some appreciation of the Philippines. For instance, it scores reasonably high in the business environment category (67.8), roughly par with Malaysia (69.6), but that is significantly lower than Thailand (78.8) even with all its problems.

As a result, even when the Philippines does okay in a competitiveness category, its scores offer no distinctiveness and no real competitive advantage compared to its neighbors. And aside from being at the bottom of the R&D category, there are other dangerous misconceptions about the Philippines, which do it a disservice. For example, despite the Philippines “vaunted” telecom infrastructure, it scores just 7.3 in that category.

One reason is low broadband Internet penetration, which is also expensive for consumers in the Philippines compared to consumers in Southeast Asia in general. That’s a huge irony, given the tight embrace with which Filipinos have engaged the Internet. Estimates vary, but about one third of Filipinos use the Internet. Because the culture is very social, almost every Internet user has a Facebook account.

Seventy-three percent are between 18 and 44 years old according to Social Bakers, which tracks the use of social media. So most Internet users are of productive age and have expendable income. This makes them valuable to brands like Smart, Hair Experts, Starbucks, Nescafé, and Red Horse, which have the largest number of Facebook fans among Philippine brand pages on the social network.

Auction sites and online retail malls are popular, too.

Does this suggest that perception of the Philippines’ IT competitiveness is simply flawed, or that Filipino users have taken to the Internet in significant numbers despite the hurdles? It’s probably both. Unfortunately, the not-so-hot perception of the Philippines’ IT competitiveness doesn’t end there. Surprisingly, the Philippines turned in a less-than-mediocre score for human capital (34.9), lower than that of Croatia (36.4).

The legal environment is mediocre at 50.5. That’s almost 10 points less than Malaysia, which scored 59.5, where the legal system is used by the party in power to undermine and jail opposition politicians. Support for IT industry development was also lukewarm at 51.0, roughly at par with Thailand (54.2) and significantly behind Malaysia (58.2) which competes aggressively with the Philippines for IT-BPO investment.

The BSA survey reveals some weaknesses. Some are real. Some we just allow to seem real.

d7beast

October 6th, 2011, 02:50 PM

ZERO??? But we are number one in R&D (Research & Destroy),..

KnightOfTheFlag

October 7th, 2011, 02:38 AM

Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011

IslandSon.PH

October 7th, 2011, 09:45 AM

Chemists keeping VCO research alive at Ateneo de Manila:cheers:
(The Philippine Star) October 06, 2011

MANILA, Philippines - Since 2005, a team of chemists at the Ateneo de Manila University’s National Chemistry Instrumentation Center (NCIC) headed by Dr. Fabian Dayrit, has been involved in studying virgin coconut oil (VCO): its production, quality parameters, and degradation.

Their research has produced several publications, one of which provided data for the revision of the Philippine National Standard for VCO.

Recently, Dayrit’s research group again came out with two new articles: “Physico-chemical and microbiological parameters in the deterioration of virgin coconut oil (with Ian Ken Dimzon, Melodina Valde, Jaclyn Elizabeth Santos, Mark Joseph Garrovillas, Henson Dejarme and Jo Margarette Remollo),” which was published in the Philippine Journal of Science last June, and “Quality characteristics of virgin coconut oil: Comparisons with refined coconut oil” (with Dimzon, Valde, Santos, Garrovillas and Blanca Villarino),” which appeared as an ASAP article last August in Pure and Applied Chemistry, the journal of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

The first article describes the different physico-chemical and microbiological parameters which affect VCO product quality.

It was found that the most important conditions that influence the degradation of VCO are moisture, temperature, and the presence of microorganisms.

In order to maintain the quality of the oil and prevent it from getting rancid, it must be kept in a tightly sealed container away from moisture and microorganisms.

This research also showed that coconut oil is more stable than other vegetable oils towards heat and air, and that VCO does not need antioxidant preservatives to prolong its shelf life.

The second article discusses how VCO can be differentiated from refined, bleached and deodorized coconut oil (RCO) in terms of the total amount of diglycerides using 31P Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

This article further describes how VCO produced by different methods (physical means and fermentation) can be distinguished from each other using their volatile composition and sensory characteristics.

The NCIC, in cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology, Philippine Coconut Authority and the Philippine VCO Producers Association, has been at the forefront of VCO research.

Currently, the group is continuing its research on VCO with the hope that the recent developments will encourage more farmers, even the poorer ones, to practice the technology at less cost but with improved profits.

The growing market for VCO is a big opportunity for the coconut industry, including small and medium enterprises. However, in this competitive and globalized market, careful attention to quality is needed to realize this potential.

MatudNilaBaby

October 8th, 2011, 02:36 PM

Parchie

October 8th, 2011, 04:35 PM

they should move on to a new area of research and not dwell on something that has already been done. the university of san carlos chemical engineering dept. has done an extensive coconut oil research a long time ago. they even had a pilot plant within the technological center.
Yep, it's true. I was still in college when that said pilot plant completed its aqueous processing of coconut. Those who are interested in it should secure the book by:"Hagenmaier, R.D. 1980. Coconut Aqueous Processing. San Carlos Publications. University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines."
VCO was one of the products that were studied after their initial successes on coconut processing.

InfinitiFX45

October 10th, 2011, 06:55 PM

Making Filipino Graduates More Employable :ohno::ohno::ohno:

by TRICIA V. MORENTE (Inside Business Agenda) October 10, 2011, 3:37am

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/337217/making-filipino-graduates-more-employable

MANILA, Philippines — When the World Economic Forum (WEF) released its Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011, it painted a picture of the global economy at a time characterized by significant uncertainty.

According to the WEF, “Economies are advancing at different speeds and there is still a risk of a ‘double dip’ in a number of countries.”

It then went on to highlight 12 pillars that determine a country’s level of competitiveness, one of which is Higher Education and Training. “Quality higher education and training,” the report states, “is crucial for economies that want to move up the value chain beyond simple production processes and products.

Today’s globalizing economy requires countries to nurture pools of well-educated workers who are able to adapt rapidly to their changing environment and the evolving needs of the production system.”

The report further revealed that the Philippines ranked a poor seventh among nine Southeast Asian nations in the area of education, science and technology, and innovation. Such a shame because in a recent media roundtable discussion with Jobstreet.com, Marketing Director Yoda Buyco revealed that there is actually a surplus of jobs available in the country.

Mismatch between education and actual employment

In the recent Jobstreet.com JobGantic Career Fair 2011 last August, Buyco reports that over 158,000 job opportunities were made available to 25,000 jobseekers that came to SMX during the two-day event. “Ang daming trabaho available, both local and overseas,” Buyco shares, adding that this year, 242 employers participated in the event. The IT-BPO sector, in particular, has been the most active in hiring.

“They represent 40 percent of the postings in our website,” says Buyco. “If you visit our website today,” she adds, “you will see close to 45,000 job postings in the website. That’s just the number of postings, because if you multiply the number of job openings per posting—and some of them can range as high as 25 openings per posting—you’ll see that the total number of jobs available amount to around 250,000.”

Given the number of job opportunities available in the country, why then do we still find ourselves facing a high unemployment rate? According to Jobstreet.com Campus Specialist Maricar Estrabo, it isn’t for a lack of jobseekers or jobs available.

“One job posting in our website would actually generate over a hundred candidates, but walang nakukuhang candidate because they lack skills,” she shares, “and this is especially true for the fresh graduates segment, the ones with only one to four years of experience.”

It’s the reason why pirating employees remains a widespread trend in the BPO sector. “The common complaint among employers is that if they bank on the talents of our fresh graduates now, they end up spending a lot on training because most of our fresh graduates are not really equipped and prepared for the workforce. There are gaps from becoming a student to an employee,” reports Estrabo.

The National Internship Movement

In line with Jobstreet.com’s mission of “improving lives through better careers,” the company recently launched the National Internship Movement, with the goal to institutionalize a formal internship program in the Philippines.

“There is no national agenda on internship,” shares Estrabo, “so this is really for us to engage different sectors to help create a sustainable internship program for the youth. Our goal is to connect 1,000 employers and schools in three years.”

According to Estrabo, different sectors have already pledged their support for the movement. “The academe is putting up internship programs for schools, but they want a stronger linkage program with different employers,” she says, adding that over 100 employers have also pledged support by establishing internship programs in their respective companies.

“We also wanted to provide students the linkages with them for monitoring and assessment. We want a 360-degree monitoring and assessment for employers, students and schools,” Estrabo says.

For its part, Jobstreet.com will be providing a rendezvous for all sectors to meet by way of a micro-site where internship opportunities will be posted. “This is really our CSR (corporate social responsibility),” injects Buyco.

“Usually when an employer posts an ad about a job opening in our website, we charge them because that’s our core revenue stream. But for all internships,” she says, “we will waive the charge and give it for free. So for all of those wanting to participate in the National Internship Movement, they can post their internship programs in our website for free.”

The company also spearheaded a campus career event themed “Leadership plus the Power of Three” last September 20, and it gathered thousands of student leaders from over 100 participating colleges and universities.

Esteemed speakers and trainers discussed how student leaders should practice and maximize their leadership skills while honing the three most sought-after skills by employers: communication skills, critical thinking skills and initiative.

It’s a long journey to institutionalize a formal internship program in the Philippines, especially because “we are dealing with the national government. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we hope that when we send out a report to DOLE about the good and bad internship practices we will be able to gather from our initial run, the government will realize the value of standardizing the process,” concludes Buyco

GodIsNotGreat

October 15th, 2011, 09:12 PM

These are bones or organs in bodies which, in their original forms, served their hosts, but since have ‘deteriorated’ in successor species due to disuse. Some examples are the femur in whales, dolphins and snakes. The classic example is of course the wings of the flightless birds like the emus, ostriches and penguins. In penguins the wings have evolved to become flippers that have become necessary for swimming. In ostriches, they become useful for mating/threat displays and for balance when they are running.

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/7182/whale.gif (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/718/whale.gif/)

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/645/vestsnake.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/338/vestsnake.jpg/)

In humans, the appendix is an organ that was useful to our vegetarian ancestors, as it served as a pouch for fermenting the cellulose to convert it into nutrients. For omnivorous homo sapiens, this organ has become redundant. (There are some who believe that the appendix may be of some small use, hosting tissues that assist in the immunization system.) Another feature of the human anatomy suggestive of our origins is the coccyx, which is the remnant of our ancestors’ tails.

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/4844/coccyx.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/36/coccyx.jpg/)

Vestigial structures are therefore relics of organs that in their present form, no longer perform the function for which they were originally evolved.

In rare instances, deactivated genes that are responsible for these structures, long dormant, are somewhat erroneously signaled to participate during cell division, resulting in individuals exhibiting features supposed to be present only in ancestor species. These structures are called atavisms.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/4477/humantail8.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/5/humantail8.jpg/)

______________________

h/t Jerry Coyne. "Why Evolution Is True" http://www.amazon.ca/Why-Evolution-True-Jerry-Coyne/dp/0670020532

bulabog jalaur

November 5th, 2011, 02:15 PM

Three new heavy elements named
Periodic table gets heftier with addition of darmstadtium, roentgenium and copernicium

http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Sources/Art/sourceLiveScience-2.gif

By Jennifer Welsh (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45171271/ns/technology_and_science-science/)

The periodic table of elements just got a bit heftier Friday, as the names of three new elements were approved by the General Assembly of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics.
Elements 110, 111 and 112 have been named darmstadtium (Ds), roentgenium (Rg) and copernicium (Cn).
These elements are so large and unstable they can be made only in the lab, and they fall apart into other elements very quickly. Not much is known about these elements, since they aren't stable enough to do experiments on and are not found in nature. They are called "Super Heavy," or Transuranium, elements.
The General Assembly approved these name suggestions proposed by the Joint Working Party on the Discovery of Elements, which is a joint body of IUPAP and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080618/080618-copernicus2-hmed-6a.grid-4x2.jpg
Circa 1515, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 - 1543), the astronomer for whom element 112, "copernicum," is named.

erbse

December 6th, 2011, 11:29 AM

Ja! :cool:

NASA's Kepler Mission Confirms Its First Planet in Habitable Zone of Sun-like Star (http://oibalos-space-science.blogspot.com/2011/12/nasas-kepler-mission-confirms-its-first.html)

http://i39.tinypic.com/6gzn87.jpg
Source: NASA.gov (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepscicon-briefing.html)

ipur

December 10th, 2011, 04:06 PM

lunar eclipse is on going :banana::banana::banana:

mikael21

December 28th, 2011, 03:11 AM

bulabog jalaur

December 29th, 2011, 02:20 PM

NASA: 2012 could bring record solar storms

http://nt0.ggpht.com/news/tbn/3A0sEu56Ku80CM/1.jpg

NASA officials said Wednesday that Earth is likely to face a barrage of increasingly common solar storms over the course of 2012 and 2013.

The solar storm, which is technically known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), is a massive eruption of solar plasma into space. The storm is expected spark major and moderate geomagnetic storms at high latitudes on Wednesday and Thursday, said officials on Wednesday......continued (http://www.thestatecolumn.com/science/nasa-2012-could-bring-record-solar-storms/)

the glimpser

December 30th, 2011, 02:27 PM

P1.6B allotted for DOST disaster mitigation project
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 12/30/2011 4:15 PM

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Science and Technology will get P1.6 billion to acquire state-of-the-art technology for accurate weather information and for improving disaster response.

Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said DOST will use the funds for its "Nationwide Disaster Risk Exposure, Assessment, and Mitigation (DREAM) Program."

DOST will acquire geospatial data gathering technologies, particularly Light Intensity Detection and Ranging and Airborne Radar Interferometry.

The new technology will give detailed topographic information to enable the creation of relatively more accurate flood inundation maps.

The DOST said LIDAR has the capability to see through forest canopy cover, which is an important feature for forestry applications and environmental monitoring.

Future flood prone areas will be identifed using the technology. Flood inundation maps will also be useful for rescue and relief operations.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/12/30/11/p16b-allotted-dost-disaster-mitigation-project

dc88

January 20th, 2012, 03:30 PM

Size of the Universe
17jymDn0W6U
Are we Alone?

the glimpser

January 27th, 2012, 03:05 PM

Pinoy scientists develop climate change tool

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA - Marine scientists from the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) have developed a tool to assess the vulnerability of coastal areas to climate change.

Called the Integrated Coastal Sensitivity, Exposure, and Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change (or ICSEA Change), it was developed through the DOST’s Remote Sensing Information for Living Environments and Nationwide Tools for Sentinel Ecosystems in our Archipelagic Seas (RESILIENT SEAS), a program to monitor coastal communities in the Philippines.

RESILIENT SEAS involves coordination with the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, UP Visayas, Bicol University, Xavier University (Cagayan de Oro), Mindanao State University (Naawan), and De La Salle University (DLSU).

The tool uses three factors: sensitivity, exposure or threat of exposure, and lack of adaptive capacity.

Using the tool, two factors out of three would indicate mean moderate vulnerability, while the presence of three factors would mean high vulnerability to climate change impact.
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/pinoy-scientists-develop-climate-change-tool-083621636.html

rain34

January 29th, 2012, 11:09 AM

Davos wowed by device that reads ‘code of life’ in hours

By: Dave Clark
Agence France-Presse
3:58 pm | Sunday, January 29th, 2012

DAVOS—It was the talk of Davos, grabbing the imagination of a forum otherwise shrouded in gloom: a miracle machine that cracks the code of life within hours and could revolutionize healthcare.

Patients will no longer have to wait weeks to know if they have cancer and their doctors will know immediately what kind of disease they have, allowing them to target therapies precisely and to avoid harmful delays or mistakes.

Health officials confronted by superbug outbreaks will be able to identify the bug’s strain and begin planning treatment within hours rather than days or weeks, potentially saving thousands of lives.

Soon, researchers in the developing world will take portable DNA sequencers into the field to identify new viruses and verify water quality.

And police investigators will be able to develop a suspect’s DNA profile as quickly as their fictional counterparts do in glossy television dramas, while commandos on the battlefield will identify the bodies of friend and foe.

The man behind the revolution is Jonathan Rothberg, master biotechnician and CEO of Ion Torrent, owned by US firm Life Technologies, which produces the Ion Proton – the world’s first desktop semiconductor-based gene sequencer.

Read more: http://business.inquirer.net/41995/davos-wowed-by-device-that-reads-code-of-life-in-hours

wino

January 30th, 2012, 06:36 PM

ang bagal ng usad ng thread na to.. compared to the "political" thread....

Nabartek

January 31st, 2012, 01:00 AM

^^bibihira din labas ng media eh....

wino

January 31st, 2012, 08:43 PM

sad....

dc88

February 1st, 2012, 07:25 AM

Canon to build laser-printer factory in Philippines (http://news.yahoo.com/canon-build-laser-printer-factory-philippines-161830877.html;_ylt=Ar8rD5EwNdbJfCR4IZpTm3fyWed_;_ylu=X3oDMTRvaWl1N2k0BGNjb2RlA2dtcHRvcDEwMDBwb29sd2lraXVwcmVzdARtaXQDTmV3cyBmb3IgeW91BHBrZwM0N2JhMjMzNS1hNzczLTM1YzYtYjQzYS02MjU3ZDExYmIwYjYEcG9zAzYEc2VjA25ld3NfZm9yX3lvdQR2ZXIDMmY2MGJlMGMtNGM0MS0xMWUxLWJlZGYtYWQ0NjJlZDg0Y2Fk;_ylg=X3oDMTM3Z2ttYmZuBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDM2I0OTdkNzItODNkMy0zOTc1LWFmNmEtMjI3Y2YxZTQyNzMxBHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlfGJpb3RlYwRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2UEdGVzdAM-;_ylv=3)
Japanese high-tech giant Canon said Tuesday it would build a laser-printer factory in the Philippines in anticipation of strong growth in global demand.

Construction of the facility in Batangas would start in April next year with the plant scheduled to begin production a year later, Canon said in a statement.

"The expected increase in future demand for competitively priced laser printers has created a pressing need for Canon to secure necessary production capacity while making it possible for the company to respond in a flexible manner," it said.

The factory is expected to employ about 5,000 people by 2014, the company said, adding that the printer business was a central pillar of the firm alongside its other office products and cameras.

Canon said it chose the Philippines due to its ready labour supply and the fact that many workers were able to speak English.

The company Monday posted a solid full-year result despite the difficult global economic environment. Canon has two existing Philippines-based subsidiaries.

bulabog jalaur

February 8th, 2012, 01:54 PM

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2012/02/0b049fc4ab32c9c7a5332b69e1aab775.jpg

World's Highest-Pitched Primate Calls Out Like a Bat (http://www.livescience.com/18359-embargoed-world-highest-pitched-primate-calls-bat.html)

The Philippine tarsier was once considered one of the quieter primate species.

A huge-eyed little primate of the Philippines can communicate in pure ultrasound — issuing calls so high-pitched that human ears can't detect them.

Study researcher Marissa Ramsier noted the ironic discovery in an animal that has always been considered a quiet night creature. "It turns out that it's not silent. It's actually screaming and we had no idea," said Ramsier, an evolutionary biologist at Humboldt State University in California.

The shrillest noise a human can hear has a frequency of about 20 kilohertz. The Philippine tarsier can hear up to 91 kilohertz, and it cries out in the 70-kHz range. Those numbers put the tarsier's hearing abilities in the same range as bats and far beyond those of any other primate ever known.

Tarsier ears

Philippine tarsiers are found only on islands of the Philippines. They're one of the smallest primate species: When full-grown, they're about the size of a man's fist.

Though they are nocturnal, the tarsiers lack a tapetum lucidum, the layer of tissue in the eyes of animals such as cats that allows for strong night vision. Instead, Philippine tarsiers have giant, lemurlike eyes.

"They're most closely related to the group that includes monkeys, apes and humans, but in many ways they resemble lemurs and lorises," Ramsier told LiveScience.

All this weirdness made Philippine tarsiers tempting subjects for investigating primate hearing, she said.

"People had pretty much thought that monkeys and other primates hear the way we do, but that was based on limited data," Ramsier said.

Tarsiers are tricky test subjects, though, because they are endangered and don't respond well to captivity. Ramsier and her colleagues had to be creative and quick. They captured six tarsiers on the island of Mindanao and placed each one in a sound-muffling chamber, where it was exposed to noises of varying frequencies from a speaker inside the chamber. Noninvasive electrodes measured their brain response to the sounds. It's more or less the same test that hospitals give to determine whether newborn babies have the full range of hearing, Ramsier said.

The tests took just about an hour each, Ramsier said, after which the tarsiers were released back into the wild.

Tarsiers were found to hear pitches as high as 91 kilohertz — far higher than the galago (also called bush baby), whose 65 kHz limit was thought to be the highest for a primate.

Ultrasonic cries

But hearing was just half of the equation. To find out if the tarsiers also could make ultrasonic noises, the researchers got out the recording equipment. On the islands of Bohol and Leyte, Texas A&M anthropologist Sharon Gursky-Doyen "happened to notice that these animals were opening their mouths and she was hearing nothing coming out," Ramsier said. "She had the foresight to get hold of a bat detector, and she was able to get that vocalization on a recording." [Hear a slowed-down recording]

All told, the researchers captured the calls of 35 wild tarsiers using an ultrasound microphone. They found that eight of the animals cried out in pure ultrasound, ranging from 67 to 79 kHz, with the most common frequency coming in around 70.

The results are being published today (Feb. 7) in the journal Biology Letters.

"This is the first time that a primate has been shown to use vocalization that is only in the ultrasound, so this call doesn't use anything in the lower frequencies that we can hear," Ramsier said.

Other primates have ultrasonic elements to their calls, but the dominant frequencies have been well within human hearing range, Ramsier said. The only other mammals known to use ultrasonic communication are whales and dolphins, some bats and rodents and domestic cats (which communicate with their kittens in ultrasound). [10 Facts for Cat Lovers]

The researchers don't know for sure why tarsiers evolved such high-pitched cries, but the cries may act as a private line for tarsier-only conversations. By communicating in high pitches, the tarsiers may be able to keep predators from overhearing their "talk," Ramsier said. They also may be using their hearing skills to listen for insects, some of which produce their own ultrasonic sounds.

"It's this duel benefit," she said. "They can communicate without predators hearing them and also locate some potential food sources."

(Though bats use their ultrasonic cries for echolocation, Ramsier doubts the tarsiers can do the same.)

Philippine tarsiers are odd primates, Ramsier said, so they may be unique in their ultrasonic abilities. But it's also possible that other primates are talking on channels humans have yet to notice.

"There could be a whole world of signals out there just waiting for us to hear them," she said. "We just have to listen."

rawr

February 8th, 2012, 02:56 PM

^^
this is very rare incident:ohno:, mayroon bang chance na magkaroon ng ganito ang mga Pilipino?

kapitbahay namin may nachichismis may buntot raw. toinks. :D

wino

February 9th, 2012, 07:42 PM

lalake ba? eh.. meron talaga yun.. kawawa cia pag wala... haha

Nabartek

February 9th, 2012, 07:56 PM

kapitbahay namin may nachichismis may buntot raw. toinks. :D

sa harap o sa likod? :lol:

AmihanSSC

February 10th, 2012, 01:31 AM

ang bagal ng usad ng thread na to.. compared to the "political" thread....
It's just show mas exciting ang Non sense issues among Pinoy:ohno::ohno:

AmihanSSC

February 10th, 2012, 01:33 AM

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2012/02/0b049fc4ab32c9c7a5332b69e1aab775.jpg

World's Highest-Pitched Primate Calls Out Like a Bat (http://www.livescience.com/18359-embargoed-world-highest-pitched-primate-calls-bat.html)

The Philippine tarsier was once considered one of the quieter primate species.
Typical Pinoy rin ang aura ni Tarsier ang Cute!

A huge-eyed little primate of the Philippines can communicate in pure ultrasound — issuing calls so high-pitched that human ears can't detect them.

Study researcher Marissa Ramsier noted the ironic discovery in an animal that has always been considered a quiet night creature. "It turns out that it's not silent. It's actually screaming and we had no idea," said Ramsier, an evolutionary biologist at Humboldt State University in California.

The shrillest noise a human can hear has a frequency of about 20 kilohertz. The Philippine tarsier can hear up to 91 kilohertz, and it cries out in the 70-kHz range. Those numbers put the tarsier's hearing abilities in the same range as bats and far beyond those of any other primate ever known.

Tarsier ears

Philippine tarsiers are found only on islands of the Philippines. They're one of the smallest primate species: When full-grown, they're about the size of a man's fist.

Though they are nocturnal, the tarsiers lack a tapetum lucidum, the layer of tissue in the eyes of animals such as cats that allows for strong night vision. Instead, Philippine tarsiers have giant, lemurlike eyes.

"They're most closely related to the group that includes monkeys, apes and humans, but in many ways they resemble lemurs and lorises," Ramsier told LiveScience.

All this weirdness made Philippine tarsiers tempting subjects for investigating primate hearing, she said.

"People had pretty much thought that monkeys and other primates hear the way we do, but that was based on limited data," Ramsier said.

Tarsiers are tricky test subjects, though, because they are endangered and don't respond well to captivity. Ramsier and her colleagues had to be creative and quick. They captured six tarsiers on the island of Mindanao and placed each one in a sound-muffling chamber, where it was exposed to noises of varying frequencies from a speaker inside the chamber. Noninvasive electrodes measured their brain response to the sounds. It's more or less the same test that hospitals give to determine whether newborn babies have the full range of hearing, Ramsier said.

The tests took just about an hour each, Ramsier said, after which the tarsiers were released back into the wild.

Tarsiers were found to hear pitches as high as 91 kilohertz — far higher than the galago (also called bush baby), whose 65 kHz limit was thought to be the highest for a primate.

Ultrasonic cries

But hearing was just half of the equation. To find out if the tarsiers also could make ultrasonic noises, the researchers got out the recording equipment. On the islands of Bohol and Leyte, Texas A&M anthropologist Sharon Gursky-Doyen "happened to notice that these animals were opening their mouths and she was hearing nothing coming out," Ramsier said. "She had the foresight to get hold of a bat detector, and she was able to get that vocalization on a recording." [Hear a slowed-down recording]

All told, the researchers captured the calls of 35 wild tarsiers using an ultrasound microphone. They found that eight of the animals cried out in pure ultrasound, ranging from 67 to 79 kHz, with the most common frequency coming in around 70.

The results are being published today (Feb. 7) in the journal Biology Letters.

"This is the first time that a primate has been shown to use vocalization that is only in the ultrasound, so this call doesn't use anything in the lower frequencies that we can hear," Ramsier said.

Other primates have ultrasonic elements to their calls, but the dominant frequencies have been well within human hearing range, Ramsier said. The only other mammals known to use ultrasonic communication are whales and dolphins, some bats and rodents and domestic cats (which communicate with their kittens in ultrasound). [10 Facts for Cat Lovers]

The researchers don't know for sure why tarsiers evolved such high-pitched cries, but the cries may act as a private line for tarsier-only conversations. By communicating in high pitches, the tarsiers may be able to keep predators from overhearing their "talk," Ramsier said. They also may be using their hearing skills to listen for insects, some of which produce their own ultrasonic sounds.

"It's this duel benefit," she said. "They can communicate without predators hearing them and also locate some potential food sources."

(Though bats use their ultrasonic cries for echolocation, Ramsier doubts the tarsiers can do the same.)

Philippine tarsiers are odd primates, Ramsier said, so they may be unique in their ultrasonic abilities. But it's also possible that other primates are talking on channels humans have yet to notice.

"There could be a whole world of signals out there just waiting for us to hear them," she said. "We just have to listen."
Ang cute din ang Aura ni Tarsier Pinoy na Pinoy:)