Biología

Quebradillas - On the beaches of this municipality, hermit crabs face a silent dilemma: there are not enough shells to protect their soft bodies. Faced with scarcity, many resort to pieces of trash as shelter. Now, a scientific and community initiative is turning to an unexpected tool to address the crisis: shells made with 3D printers.

San Juan, May 20, 2024 - Lorena Pachiardi, a ninth-grade student, created and developed a prototype of a low-cost prosthetic hand on a three-dimensional (3D) printer. The project was carried out as part of the “Seeds of Success” program of the non-profit organization Ciencia Puerto Rico (CienciaPR), which promotes STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education for girls in seventh through ninth grades in public, private and homeschoolers' schools around the island.

Forest fires, torrential rains, droughts and extreme heat affect the countries that supply the archipelago, forcing an increase in local production, according to experts.

On an island that imports 85% of what it consumes, seeing the shelves full of products in supermarkets, despite the fact that the last natural disaster was a year ago with Hurricane Fiona, does not hide an irrefutable fact: Puerto Rico is at the mercy of the ravages of climate change in the countries that supply it with food, agreed multiple voices consulted by El Nuevo Día.

Reaping the fruits of their work for the protection of the leatherback turtles, hawksbill turtles, and green sea turtles, and they are committed to continue recruiting volunteers for their initiatives.

Stopping the illegal hunting of sea turtles, the plundering of their nests and the theft of their eggs has been the goal of a group of friends from Maunaba who, since 2001, have been engaged in research on the populations of these endangered species and the alternatives to preserve them.

Although it has been scientifically recognized that the Puerto Rican bee is highly valued for its docility and resistance to diseases and pests that attack this species in other countries, Puerto Rico has not developed a beekeeping market that could not only contribute economically to the government, but also help in the pollination process in local and international agricultural sectors.

Read the full story in the spanish version.