Science News

Collaborations with various media allow us to create a bank of science news of relevance to the Puerto Rican and Hispanic communities and give a venue that our scientific members can use to keep their communities informed and engaged with science.

Also, the news archive can be used as a resource for students and educators

In this section you can find: news written by members of the CienciaPR team and written by other news media and which are reproduced with permission from the original source.

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Excellent strategy against 'trans-fats'

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

The Puerto Rican Cardiology Society, the College of Surgeons, the College of Nutritionists and the American Heart Association have given a very important step towards protecting the Puerto Rican population’s health by starting a campaign to convince the Government to ban the use of hydrogenated fat or “trans-fat” from food confection. The Government has the responsibility to establish programs that alert the public about the consequences of consuming “trans-fats”, whose addition to the Puerto Rican diet about 30 years ago has had devastating consequences, demonstrated by the fact that cardiovascular diseases are the first cause of death in our country. Health must be seen as a basic right of every person, and all citizens must demand that health care is a priority on our country’s agenda.

Three coquies that stopped singing

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

The coqui Eneida, the Golden coqui and the Web-footed coqui have not been heard or seen for almost 20 years. The three coqui species are thought to be extinct, and although the reasons are not clear and can vary, expert agree on something: the destruction of these amphibians habitat had a lot to do. The Eneida coqui (Eleutherodactylus eneidae) was found in high altitudes like the Central Mountain Range and El Yunque. It disappeared from the beginning of the 80’s. This coqui was declared a species in critical danger of extinction, but its habitat was never protected, and experts worry that the same thing will happen with the Llanero coqui, discovered in 2003. The Golden coqui (Eleutherodactylus jasperi) lived only in Cayey. The species, discovered in 1973, lived in bromeliad plants only. It disappeared by 1981. It is said that the land it inhabited was burned on purpose. The Web-footd coqui (Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti), a sub-aquatic species lived mostly in small rivers, and it was last seen in 1974.

Paleontology: a little known science

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Paleontology is the science that studies past life through fossils. It is different from archaeology that studies old civilizations by looking at human remains. Paleontology in Puerto Rico begun in the early 20th century. In 1907, Cayetano Coll y Toste mentions the presence of shark teeth fossils in its work about Puerto Rico{s prehistory. Posterior works were done by American paleontologists like Harold E. Anthony, whom participated in an ample study sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences. At the beginning of the 1990’s, group expeditions by the American Natural History Museum in New York and the National Museum of Natural History in La Habana made important discoveries in the Island. The most recent discoveries in paleontology have been done by the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez.

Heritage lacks local protection

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

One of the main obstacles facing Puerto Rican paleontology is the lack of laws that regulate and promote the protection of fossils found in Puerto Rican soil. According to Hernan Santos, professor of the Department of Geology at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, this lack of regulation has facilitated that many valuable objects remain in private hands or in the custody of scientific institutions abroad, which limits the access of Puerto Rican scientists to these findings.

The Puerto Rican parrot struggles to survive

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

The Puerto Rican parrot has a distinctive white ring around the eyes, a red forehead and blue feathers in its wings. Other five species of the Amazona genre live in the Island, all introduced as exotic pets. Today, very few Puerto Rican parrots survive. However, this was not always the case. Close to a million of these parrots cruised the Puerto Rican skies during the IXX century. They were hunted and captured as pets for a long time. As a consequence of this, thirty years ago, the Iguaca –as it was known by our taino Indians- became one of the most endangered birds in the worls, with only 13 individuals left. Back then, they were struggling to survive in the Yunque forest. Today, two reproduction projects are working to avoid the loss of our endemic bird forever. Although this projects have accomplish the reproduction of this bird in captivity and they have freed several individuals, the Iguaca population still struggles to survive. Some of the problems it faces are the lack of habitat, competition with other foreign parrot species, lack of food and predators, among other factors.

Puerto Rico's startling origin

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Millions of years ago, the natural barriers between Puerto Rico and other continental territories today did not exist, at least for a period of time. This, according to scientists, made possible for the flora and the fauna to migrate freely from continents to the actual Caribbean islands. The best preserved fossils of this remote Puerto Rico are found by paleontologists in the San Sebastian and Juana Diaz formations.

Biodiesel in Puerto Rico

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Thanks to the Biodiesel of Puerto Rico Company, the Island is the first country in Central America and the Caribbean to produce biodiesel, a biodegradable alternative fuel. Biodiesel is substitute fuel for traditional diesel -a petroleum derivate- that is obtained from vegetable oils extracted from seeds, plants, oily algae as well as recycled oil.

The Puerto Rican cuckoo: a very smart bird

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

The Puerto Rican lizard cuckoo can seem slow and unfriendly, but it is an excellent lizard and insect hunter. This endemic Puerto Rican bird hunts lizards daily with a minimum effort, because lizards are a major part of its diet. The Puerto Rican cuckoo is a big species, approximately a foot and a quarter long. In spite of its size, is easier to hear it than to see it in the forest. Its slow movements make it hard to spot among leaves and branches. However, its characteristic song, which sounds like a rapid series of “cao”, makes it difficult to ignore. This species is very sensitive to deforestation. To be able to continue enjoying this beautiful bird, we need to protect and restore forests, and establish corridors so it can expand its distribution and enjoy its lizards and insects as the biggest of the cuckoo birds.

What are science and math good for?

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Many people relieve that science and mathematics are just a pile of data and equations that have been discovered by investigators and that learning these subjects’ means that you have to memorize all of the above. Science and math are much more than that: they are a way of observing, analyzing and thinking about the world surrounding us. Scientific and mathematical thinking provides all of us (even those who won’t become scientists or mathematicians) with critical thinking skills that are useful in many aspects of life. The same way that running is good for our health even if we are not professional runners, learning how to think as a scientist or mathematician helps us make better decisions in life.

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