Annually since 1988, all United Nations member states—including the Philippines—commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1. The initiative, started by the World Health Organization, aims to shed light on the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which have claimed the lives of 30 to 41 million people worldwide. This year’s theme…
Tag: Breaking the Surface
Last September 2, the Department of Budget and Management approved a budget proposal of P20.18-billion for the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the year 2020—P79.85-million lower than the P20.26-billion allocated to the department in 2019. This budget cut raised concerns among members of the House of Representatives, who have in turn pushed for…
Last September 23, the United Nations (UN) High Level Meeting (HLM) on Universal Health Coverage or Universal Health Care (UHC) took place at the UN Headquarters in New York City amid the organization’s 74th General Assembly. The HLM was attended by representatives from all UN member states, including the Philippines, Canada, Japan, and Brazil. With…
Self-driving cars, three-dimensional printing, fiber optics, bluetooth technology, and social media—these are just some of the innovative solutions and technologies that have shaped the 21st century. Greatly influencing how the world works, these advancements disrupted the monotony of established systems and workings; they paved the way for societal change. However, innovations are not limited to…
The human race is attuned to experiencing the ordinary on a day-to-day basis, but the world, at times, has other plans. More notable days, such as November 16 of last year, break this monotony by introducing groundbreaking discoveries, debunking outdated claims, or overcoming world standards and records. On that day at Versailles, France, 60 countries…
July 8 marked the official public release of two mobile applications, Crabifier and BioMon, developed by research groups from the University’s Technologies for Biodiversity Use and Conservation Unit. The launch event, which took place at Br. Andrew Gonzalez Multipurpose Hall, featured a panel discussion as well as demonstrations of the new technologies. Describing the applications…
Since March, several districts in Metro Manila have been experiencing daily water interruptions and rotational interruptions implemented by the two sole water concessionaires in the metropolis—Manila Water and Maynilad. However, it was not until June that the severity of the issue at hand was emphasized. Last June 8, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services…
Earlier this year, three countries were chosen to pilot-test the first ever malaria vaccine. In a joint project with the World Health Organization (WHO) and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK), the program sought to immunize 120,000 children below the age of two. The initiative comes after the vaccine RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S), also known as Mosquirix, was found to…
The discovery of a third metatarsal from a then unknown hominin, a primate regarded as human, directly ancestral to humans, was just the beginning of the journey that would take place for three excavation years in Callao Cave. Discovered by University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Archaeological Studies Program (ASP) graduate student Archie Tiauzon, an…
The Philippine Senate has recently approved the bill creating the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA). Senate Bill 1983, otherwise known as the Act of Establishing the Philippine Space Development and Utilization Policy and Creating the Philippine Agency, was passed last Monday, May 20. Outgoing Senator Bam Aquino, one of the principal authors of the bill, reasoned…