First Puerto Rican woman to be named president of Mycological Society of America

Submitted by Yomarie Bernier-Casillas on 11 September 2018 - 6:35am

Dr. Sharon A. Cantrell became the first Puerto Rican woman to be appointed to the presidency of the Mycologycal Society of America, an organization that brings together scientists dedicated to the study of fungi and which was founded in 1932. Dr. Cantrell is a professor at the School of Natural Sciences and Technology of the Universidad del Turabo in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. She obtained her baccalaureate (Biology) and masters (Biology / Mycology) at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. In 1996 she completed his PhD in Phytopathology - Mycology at the University of Georgia in Athens. Currently her research is directed to fungal ecology, climate change, extreme environments, taxonomy and systematics.

November: Diabetes Awareness Month

Submitted by Yomarie Bernier-Casillas on 18 November 2017 - 7:05pm

Did you know that diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the world and of which there is no cure? Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects the body's ability to use the energy contained in food. As a result, blood sugar (glucose) levels increase, resulting in a chain of short and long-term adverse effects. Depending on the type of diabetes patients need insulin or pills to control it.

After consuming food, our body transforms it into glucose and other nutrients that are absorbed by the blood. After eating, blood sugar level increases activating the pancreas that generates insulin and releases it into the bloodstream. In people with diabetes this does not happen because the body is not able to produce or react to insulin properly.