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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Students "explore" their brains

Submitted on 22 March 2007 - 10:44pm

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

The Puerto Rican chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, the Department of Medicine and the Biomedical Sciences Division of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, celebrated the activity “Explore your brain”, on Friday, March 16, 2007. In this activity, around 150 high school students had the opportunity to learn about the nervous system, its diseases, and how this fascinating structure is studied. The activity included interactive study stations about neuroanatomy, the senses, memory, addiction, neurological diseases and the spinal cord.

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The Puerto Rican vireo

Submitted on 22 March 2007 - 2:04pm

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

The Puerto Rican vireo, endemic to Puerto Rico, is a small bird, less than 5 inches long. It stands out for its song and for having a thick beak, white chest and a yellowish belly. The Puerto Rican vireo can only live in forest and sometimes in shadowy coffee plantations. It is very common in the northern karst, where the diversity of trees provides the food necessary for this bird. Among its favorite food are beetles, grasshoppers and blackflies. Sometimes it also eats spiders, small lizards and fruits.

Poultry might be a target for avian flu

Submitted on 22 March 2007 - 1:48pm

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

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The Professional is a member of CienciaPR
Avian flu has been news for its outbreaks in Asian countries. The HN51 virus is spread from bird to bird and form bird to human, and so far has infected 173 people, 54% of which have died. There is a possibility that the virus might mutate, allowing it to spread from person to person like the common flu does, which will cause a serious public health problem. According to a study done by researchers in Iowa, an easy way to prevent the spread of this an other common viruses, is to wash your hands frequently, specially after touching or handling poultry or birds.

Harmful volcanic eruptions

Submitted on 20 March 2007 - 3:53pm

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

This week, the Volcanology Observatory of Montserrat reported a volcanic eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano that affected local aerial transit from and to Puerto Rico, as well as the respiratory system of many. It is calculated that the ash cloud reached 240 feet of altitude. Volcanic ashes are particles of pulverized rocks turned to sand or dust, and are a natural element of the environmental contamination caused by volcanic eruptions. These particles can be abrasive, acid, sandy, gassy and usually has a strong sulfur smell.

Nobel prize by "chance"

Submitted on 20 March 2007 - 2:51pm

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

Peter Courtland Agre, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2003, visited the School of Medicine of the Medical Sciences Campus, to share his scientific experiences. Among his contributions is the first separation of a group of Rh blood antigens and the “casual” discovery of aquaporins, a family of water proteins that are responsible for numerous physiological processes un humans, for he has been widely recognized.

Refrigerants are enemies to the environment

Submitted on 20 March 2007 - 2:28pm

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

In the past few years, Daniel Crespo, president of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technicians Association, has dedicated his time to educate the population about the environmental consequences of improperly disposing of the toxic waste generated by electro-domestic equipment. Refrigerants, the substances used to cool down refrigerators, water fountains and air conditioners, contain toxic and flammable substances that could cause respiratory and nervous system problems, if disposed incorrectly. The excessive and inadequate release of this substances to the environment have been the main motive for some nations in the world to create international treaties –the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols- that intend to reduce the production of these and other substances that affect the ecological balance of the planet. According to this organization, not only refrigerators and air conditioners can damage the environment when disposed, but also many other appliances that are common in garbage dumps. The organization presented the Legislature and the government with a plan to create a Plant for the Disposal of Electronic and Electric Appliances. The idea is to create a plant to dispose of refrigerants and recycle the solid waste generated from disposed computers, stoves, washers, and fluorescent lamps.

More life saving options

Submitted on 20 March 2007 - 2:07pm

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

The Transplant Center of the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital is a program that in the past 30 years has performed 1,346 transplants, and that is also part of a research consortium with the University of Puerto Rico. In the Island, this Center performs heart and kidney transplants, and it recently performed the first pancreas transplant, a milestone in local medicine. Next summer they expect to start the first liver transplant program in Puerto Rico. All this presents the possibility that the Transplant Center of the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital could become the second most important transplant center in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, after the Cardiovascular Center.

Keeping an eye on coral reefs

Submitted on 16 March 2007 - 11:55am

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

Yesterday was inaugurated the Caribbean Coral Ref. Institute, in the Isla Magueyes, Lajas, research facilities of the Marine Sciences Department of the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez. The new center will operate in alliance with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and will do research to help local and federal agencies to take measures for the preservation of coral reefs. Reefs provide a natural barrier to protect coastal areas against erosion, storm surges and tsunamis. They are a research source for medicinal products with the potential of providing cures and treatments to many diseases, including cancer. “Even then, reefs suffer degradation due to contamination, over-fishing, excessive coastal development and the rise in sea temperature.”

Climate change in agenda

Submitted on 16 March 2007 - 11:35am

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

Silvia Abadía, director of the Physical Planing of the Board of Planning and who is in charge of the Sustainable Development committee of the agency said that the effects of global warming in the Island will be taken into account for the preparation of the Land Use Plan that the Board of Planning is putting together, as part of the philosophy of having a sustainable development. Although the Land Use Plan doesn’t explicitly speak of the impact of global warming in the Island, Abadía said that in the practice they will address it and that a “public policy for proper land use” will be established. She stressed the importance of preserving natural resources, having a better coastal development, preserving the karst zones and preserving farming lands.

Mixed winds for eolic energy

Submitted on 15 March 2007 - 3:27pm

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

The company Windmar is about to obtain the final permits to start the construction of the first wind energy Project in the Island, to be located in the coast of Guayanilla. The project would locate 25 turbines in a private property in the coast of Guayanilla, generating around 45 megawatts maximum per hour, which represents a minimal percent of the energy consumed in the country, estimated in 78,147 megawatts per hour, in peak hours. The Puerto Rican Ornithology Society (SOPI, in Spanish) has already expressed opposition to the project. According to the organization, “the effects are disproportionate to the benefits.” Two of the points raised by SOPI is the possible impact to the Guanica Dry Forest and to the reproduction of a critically endangered species, the Puerto Rican nightjar. Another one of the preoccupations of SOPI is the possibility of wild fires in the place and that they could affect directly the natural reserve as well as some threatened or endangered species like the brown pelican, the hawksbill sea turtle and the crested toad.

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